A lonely road
by Tan-is-a-fan
Summary: When things go south again, Jayne finds himself an unexpected ally, Mal takes on a job he really doesn't want, a figure from the past is on Serenity's tail and relationships start to form in the most odd and dangerous situations...Pairings: MS and JR.
1. Part 1

**A lonely road**

_Rating: PG13 for now, will turn R in the future._

_Disclaimer: Yes, I own Firefly and everything related to it. In my lonely, pathetic dreams. We all know I'm just doing this out of love for the show and that I'm not making any money from this fic._

_Info: .Yes, I have seen the movie. And more than once, too. Not to worry though, there are no spoilers, let's say that the fic starts after the series has ended, so just spoilers for the show :)._

_Pairings: J/R, M/S, but just hints of it for now._

_Warnings: slash. Not in this chapter but there will be m/m slash in future chapters (but when that happens, I'll put up a header, don't be afraid :p). Also, loads of violence and probably some tragic deaths. I'm evil that way._

_Feedback: will be printed and nuzzled to death!_

**Part 1: where the job doesn't go smooth and Jayne gets some unexpected help.**

She looked at her hands. They didn't look like hands at all. Her vision was hindered… the air seemed thick between her fingers, and between her eyes and her hands, as if she was under water.

"Water…" she mumbled softly, still concentrating on her hands. Her eyes drifted to her bare feet, watching her toes as she walked on water.

She smiled as she crouched down, carefully dipping her fingers in the cold liquid, one by one. The small drops clung to her hair and dress as she sprinkled the cold water all over her face.

The girl smiled a little comprehending smile. The water seemed to form a barrier between herself and the world. Translucent and serene… like being inside a dream, she thought.

"River, what are you doing?" a worried voice pierced its way into her brain. Male voice. She knew that voice…

"What's goin' on here, gorram it?" a gruff voice said, immediately followed by the sound of feet splashing on a wet floor. "Gos se," Jayne muttered as he set foot on the soaked galley floor.

"River, sweetie, get up from there," Simon said in an exasperated voice as he helped her get up from the floor. She shrugged him off and rolled her eyes.

"We got a leak!" Kaylee's voice came shouting as she ran up the stairs to the galley and skidded into the room.

"Yeah, we got that," Jayne growled while he joined Kaylee, who immediately started checking the pipes. They found the leak soon enough and began to try and salvage what was left of the water.

"Those were about half our water supplies, far as I can see," Kaylee informed them as she looked at the flooded floor. "Where are we gonna find us a decent and cheap supplier this corner of the 'verse?" she added. She took in the scene, her hands on her hips, and sighed.

"What's all the ruckus?" Mal said briskly as he stepped in. The moment his feet touched the floor, there was a squeaking sound. The captain looked down at his feet and simply said: "Huh."

River looked at everyone in turn. Mal, as he muttered: "Guess we'll have to dock someplace to get water." Simon, giving her a worried look. Dear, sweet Simon still thought she couldn't take care of herself. Kaylee, giving one of the pipes a hard thump, her jaw set in intense concentration.

And Jayne. River cocked her head. She liked Jayne, he was not as complicated as the others. She had no trouble understanding his emotions, since they were all on the surface.

"C'mere sweetie, I'll take you to your room," Kaylee's soft voice sounded next to her, her fingers gently closing around River's forearm.

------------------------

"What's the plan?" Wash asked as everyone say around the dinner table. Everyone except River, who was tucked safely in her quarters. One of the side effects of the medication Simon had been giving her was that she had even more temper tantrums. Today hadn't been a particularly good day when it came to that, Simon thought as his eyes fell on a couple of glass fragments Kaylee had overlooked. Leftover of the previous hour, when River had stormed out of the passenger dorms, stalked into the kitchen and started to send some of the few glass drinking cups they owned flying into the wall.

"We're headed for Beaumonde. I sent a wave to Jack and he's willing to do business," Mal answered his pilot.

"Rip us off, more like," Jayne grumbled. He was cleaning his gun and didn't even look up, but that didn't stop him from hearing every word that was being said.

"Jayne has got a point, sir. The man isn't all that trustworthy," Zoe told Mal.

"May be, but so far he hasn't done us any harm. He is one of our more reliable contacts and the deal he offered is twice as cheap as the average asking price. I'm not sayin' it won't be dodgy but we'll go in well prepared. Jayne, Zoe, you're with me. Kaylee, did you find that leak?" he asked.

"Yep," Kaylee said, nodding fervently. "Big gapin' hole smack in the middle of the central pipeline, might need some serious mending."

"You do that, then. Everyone else is free to check out the town, though I'd take it as a kindness if you didn't stray too far. Knowing Jack's temper, we might have to clear off in a hurry," Mal said.

"D'you think I could get some medical supplies while we're there?" Simon wanted to know.

"If I were you, I wouldn't be leaving the ship at all, doctor. Same for your sister. Alliance moles ain't all that uncommon on Beaumonde," Mal said.

"Alright, but the next time someone gets shot and I can't help out, don't blame me," Simon said with a casual shrug and a hint of a smile before he leaned back in his chair.

------------------------

One floor down, in her room, River couldn't see what was going on, but she heard and felt everything…

------------------------

Zoe glanced over her shoulder at the ship as she, Mal and Jayne drove off on the mule.

"I'm still not sure this is such a good idea, sir. Jack's men could easily go behind our backs and attack the ship," she said.

"Don't reckon they will, Jack ain't got no use for Serenity. 'Sides, anything happens, Wash'll get in touch and we'll come back and save the day, guns a'blazing," the captain replied with a huge grin as Jayne drove the mule across the prairie and through a canyon.

It took them less than ten minutes to get to the rendezvous point, where they were welcomed by six or seven unfriendly looking goons.

"Well, well, if it ain't good old Mal Reynolds and his flunkies," an unpleasant voice said. Mal smirked while Jack lazily strolled their way.

"Jack," he replied curtly. "Long time."

"Yeah, not long enough," Jayne grumbled to Zoe, who didn't show any reaction besides the gleam in her eyes. Jack on the other hand glared at the mercenary and turned back to Mal.

"He can't go with us," he said simply, pointing his thumb at Jayne.

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Why's that?" Her hand was starting to twitch, ready to go for her gun.

Jack shrugged casually. "The man who's got your water supplies won't be lookin' to deal with no mercs. And I'm not rubbing him the wrong way, the man owns about half of this moon."

Mal crossed his arms in front of his chest and frowned. "Let me guess. Fancies himself a big businessman, looks to act virtuous in case the Alliance decide to check him out?"

Jack pointed his finger at Mal and smirked. "Ten points for the captain."

"Fine, give me a minute," Mal replied as he beckoned Zoe and Jayne to come closer. "Jayne, go back to the ship-" he said in a low voice.

"What? But Mal-"

"I _said_, go back to the ship, fetch the doctor and tell him to get over here right away," Mal went on, ignoring the merc's protests. "Zoe can drive the mule to Serenity and back. You stay on the ship and ride this one out."

Jayne was about to argue but the look in his captain's eyes told him it was useless, so he just rolled his eyes and muttered, "You've got to be kiddin' me…" as he followed Zoe to the mule.

------------------------

"You're back soon. Where's Mal?" Simon asked with a frown when he saw the both of them walk into the cargo bay.

"Change of plans. You're coming with me," Zoe said.

"Why, what happened? Is the captain hurt?" The worry in his voice grew more pronounced.

"No, he's fine. I'll explain on the way."

"I'd like to but I really can't. I have to watch River," the doctor said to her. "All the others have gone into town. We didn't go because the captain said that it probably wouldn't be safe…"

"Don't worry about it doctor. Jayne's staying on the ship, he can look out for your sister," she said. Her tone was dead serious, but there was a definite hint of a smile on her face. Simon just gave her an incredulous look, and Jayne seemed about ready to hurl his knife in her general direction.

Unfortunately for both men, Zoe's piercing eyes made it quite clear there was no debating this. Simon uttered a deep sigh. As he passed Jayne, he mumbled in an exasperated voice: "Just… try not to sell her. Okay?" He looked less than happy, which made Jayne feel a mite better.

"How 'bout trading, 's that count?" he shot back as Zoe and Simon drove off again and Jayne was left alone in the cargo bay. From the galley, he could the sound of a plate shattering.

"Great. Just great," he growled.

------------------------

She was sitting at the dinner table, scribbling on a piece of paper when Jayne stalked in. The broken plate in the middle of the floor was the only proof that she hadn't been sitting there the whole time.

"We have to go," she said calmly and without looking up. Jayne blinked.

"We ain't goin' anywhere," he snapped and walked towards the bridge, having no intention of cleaning up the shards on the floor. River sighed, folded the piece of paper and pushed back her chair to follow him.

Jayne sat down in the pilot's chair and leaned back with his hands folded behind his back. _I could captain a ship_, he thought to himself.

"We _have_ to go," River's voice breathed into his ear. He almost lost his balance and looked angrily over his shoulder at the girl who was standing only inches away.

"Shouldn't be sneaking up on people like that, girl," he growled. "'Specially not them that's carrying guns."

"Jayne, you there?" Zoe's voice suddenly sounded through the com. "We're in a scrap, you better get over here." Her voice sounded a little less calm than it usually did. The merc looked over his shoulder at River, his eyes narrowed. She was just looking at him expectantly with her arms folded across her chest. "Told you," she said.

"Zoe, what about the doc's sister? I can't leave her here, for all I know she takes off with the boat. She's capable of it, most like," Jayne said into the speakers as if the girl wasn't even there.

"Then take her with you. If she's really as good a shot as Kaylee said, she might come in useful." With that, the connection went dead.

Jayne sighed. This day was just getting better by the minute. All of a sudden River leaned over him, her hair brushing his face. She quickly unfolded the scrap of paper she'd been scribbling on earlier, and started fiddling with some dials.

"What the ruttin' hell are you doing girl?" Jayne said when his eyes fell on the page. It was full of calculations that River was now avidly typing into the engine controls. The next moment, she stood back with a huge grin on her face.

"It's an encryption that will prevent anyone from taking off with the ship while we're gone," she said, actually sounding a bit proud. Jayne just looked at her for a second and blinked. Then he shook his head as if he was trying to wake up from a really strange dream, and got up to get Vera.

------------------------

They could hear the gunfire from almost a mile away. Jayne sighed. They'd get there so much quicker if they didn't have to run the whole way, but Zoe and the doctor had taken the mule with them. Still, they were getting closer now; the others were just over the next hill… Jayne glanced quickly at the surroundings but he didn't see any opportunity to find cover and take them out from a distance.

Suddenly Jayne felt River grabbing his hand and pointing at a low overhanging rock. The two of them quickly took cover. Jayne got Jack's goons in his sights, and within a minute he had taken out one of them. He was about to aim again when a prickling feeling in the back of his neck made his hairs stand on end. The next moment, he felt the cold metal against his skin as the barrel of a gun was pressed to his neck.

Glancing carefully over his shoulder, Jayne saw that the weapon belonged to one of Jack's goons, flashing him an ugly grin. River on the other hand was nowhere to be seen. Jayne found himself hoping that she hadn't been caught, although he wasn't sure if it was because she was crew, or because he still felt like that reward was rightfully his.

There was a loud pop, and the gun fell limply from the goon's hand, right before the man himself slumped on top of Jayne. When he looked up, he spotted River standing a couple of feet away with a smoking gun in her hand and another crooked smile on her face.

"Hey, wait a minute…" Jayne mumbled when he recognized the weapon. His hand instinctively flew to his hip, where he normally strapped his gun. The holster was empty. "That's my gun!" he growled. "How d'you manage that?" he asked while he rolled the dead guy off his legs and got up. She shrugged and handed him back his gun as Jayne brushed the dust from his clothes.

"Wasn't that hard. Sitting duck in the pond," she said with a giggle. When she noticed the patented angry look he was giving her, she added gleefully: "And you're welcome."

"Um, yeah… Thanks," Jayne said, feeling a bit thrown. "That was a decent thing to do." _'Specially after I tried to sell you out_, he added to himself. The young girl smiled and nodded cheerfully, her raven black hair dancing around her head. Jayne had the uncomfortable feeling she was nodding at what he had just thought instead of at what he'd said, and that got him mightily annoyed.

"Even though you coulda missed and shot me instead," he added with a nasty glint in his eyes.

River however just gave him a blank look. "I don't miss."

With that, they started running towards the others. As soon as they were in plain sight, both of them skidded to a halt at the sight in front of them.

Mal was sprawled out on the sand with Simon and Zoe leaning over him. Nobody was paying any attention to the six dead bodies scattered through the valley, instead all four of them had their eyes focused on Mal, who was lying in a small puddle of blood with his eyes closed.

River gasped at the sight, but the shrieks that followed were lost in the sound of Jayne's boots as he ran to the others. Visions and images started to flood her brain and she cried out. Vaguely, she felt herself hit the ground with a thud, but she hardly noticed it as the horror of what she was seeing and feeling hit her.

------------------------

"There's nothing more I can do for him. We have to get him back to the ship." Simon watched as Zoe and Jayne carefully loaded Mal's unconscious body onto the mule. "Where's River?" Simon asked suddenly, looking around. They all looked around for a moment, until they could see her some fifty yards away, sitting in the sand and not moving a muscle at the sight of them. In fact, Simon thought as he signaled Zoe to drive the mule closer to River, he wasn't sure if she even knew they were there.

When they reached her, she was still sitting on the dusty ground, hugging her knees. Her face was streaked with tears. Immediately, Simon's head snapped around to face Jayne. "What happened?"

"Gorram it, don't look at me! She was doin' just fine a moment ago," Jayne answered defensively. "Now, just haul her up here so we can get a move on, unless you feel like lettin' the cap'n die on this craphole moon…"

Simon nodded and helped his sister onto the mule. It wasn't until they had starting moving that she blinked slowly, as if she was only just waking up. She looked around and when her eyes met her brother's, there was so much hurt in them that it made his gut roil.

"Mei mei, what happened?" he asked softly, stroking her hair. She shrugged him off violently and shook her head.

"It's not relevant," she mumbled, looking at Mal. "You have to take care of him now or he won't make it." Her voice was calm and free of all emotion, but there was something hidden underneath it that Simon couldn't quite capture. His look drifted to Mal. She was right; things weren't looking too shiny for the captain…

------------------------

Even though there were only five people in the infirmary, it looked more crowded than it would if all nine of them had been in there. Simon was rushing around while Zoe acted as an impromptu nurse. River was still shaking a bit, but she looked calmer.

"Jayne, could you take River to her quarters? I would, but I'm too busy right now," Simon asked reluctantly while he removed the splintered bullet carefully from Mal's abdomen. He was mentally prepared for a whole lot of protesting and complaints on Jayne's end, but to his surprise he got nothing of the sort. Jayne just took River firmly by her shoulder and led her out of the infirmary.

------------------------

"Now you stay here, you hear me girl?" Jayne growled when River was propped on her bed. She looked up and gave him a sad smile. "Jayne is a girl's name," she stated softly but matter-of-factly.

"I told you before, girl, I ain't no girl!" His tone was gruff. He seemed angry, but River kept looking at him intently and smiling eerily, as if she'd just decided on an important matter.

"You're not angry… But you are afraid," she said in a tone that suggested she was deep in thought. Now _this_ made him angry, she thought. She could feel it stir within him again…

"I ain't afraid of a gorram thing!" he answered loudly. River didn't react, instead she ignored him and just stretched out on the bed with her back to him. This infuriated Jayne even more, even if he had no clue why, and he turned to leave.

"You have to stay."

"What?" He turned on his heel. River was sitting up again and was looking at him with big dark eyes.

"You're simple," she said placidly. For a moment Jayne wasn't sure if he'd heard her right. He couldn't believe she'd have the guts to say that… His eyes narrowed menacingly and he took one step closer.

"What'd you just say?" he said in a threatening growl, anger rising in his voice again.

"You make it simple. All the others… say things but don't mean them. See things, feel things…" She shook her head violently as if she was trying to chase away a bad memory. "… Don't talk about 'em. There's double meanings and secrets --" She paused abruptly and looked him in the eyes. "Your feelings are always on the surface. Bubbling, waiting to erupt." She smiled another eerie little smile.

"It makes things clearer… maybe makes it a little less crowded up here." Slowly, she touched her temples with her fingertips.

Jayne blinked in confusion, and it sure as hell didn't get any less confusing when she signalled him to sit down. He obliged and sat down on the corner of the bed. He wasn't really sure what she wanted from him, but he wasn't gonna let his guard down. The girl had been of use in a tricky situation, but that didn't mean that he trusted her any more for it.

River leaned forward. She had a conspiring look on her face, like a normal girl her age who was gossiping, but when she spoke it was dead serious and with a hint of fear in her eyes.

"The jacks and kings always lose to the aces, and there are no queens in the game now…" she whispered. "I can tell you what I felt. You won't tell them, will you?"

------------------------

_TBC in chapter 2..._


	2. Part 2

_A/N: Some hints of slash in this chapter, just so you know ;)._

**Part two: where Simon looks after Mal, Inara makes an announcement and Kaylee doesn't take it well**

Mal blinked slowly against the bright neon light shining overhead. It told him he was in the infirmary, a conclusion that was quickly confirmed when he carefully turned his head to the right and saw Simon sitting in the chair next to the stretcher, dozing.

"Ow," Mal muttered when the movement caused a sharp burning pain to shoot from his gut up and down his spine like a lightning bolt.

"You're awake," Simon said, instantly up and reaching for the monitors next to Mal's sickbed so he could check his vitals. "I was getting concerned; you've been out for sixteen hours straight."

"What went down? I get shot again?" the captain asked drowsily and in a slightly slurred voice.

"Yes I'm afraid so, but you'll be just fine," Simon answered him with a little smile.

"Fine, huh? Is That why you're sitting next to my bed like a watchdog?" Mal replied dryly. He smiled inwardly. He'd never admit it but he had taken a liking to the good doctor.

Simon looked at the monitors and smiled. "Well, I figured you wouldn't want to be alone when you woke up." For a moment, Mal thought he saw the doctor blush a little, but then Simon looked up and went on in that matter-of-factly tone he only seemed to have while he was mending folk. "Jayne, Kaylee and the Shepherd are trying their best to fix the leak. The others…" Simon hesitated for a second. "Well, we ran into an Alliance Cruiser a short while ago."

Mal noticed that the doctor was looking even paler than usual; the young man was nervous as hell about being found by the Alliance. "Wash, Zoe and Inara are on the bridge right now… We've been hailed, so they're doing what they can to negotiate…" Simon said reluctantly.

As Simon had expected, Mal immediately started to get up, only to be pushed down again by Simon's careful but surprisingly firm touch. He winced as Simon's hand pressing against his shoulder made the stabbing pain shoot through his body again, but didn't let it show. He didn't want to worry Simon about something that wasn't all that big of a deal -- he'd been shot before. On the other hand, it was kinda nice to have the good doctor fuss over him like that. Hardly anyone ever did.

"Ow," he muttered softly.

"Sorry captain, but you really need to lie down. But… if it'll make you feel better, I can go up to the bridge, ask Zoe what's happening and come back to tell you?"

------------------------

Mal answered him while leaning back, closing his eyes and letting out a deep sigh. "That'd be mighty nice doctor," he said, stifling a yawn. Simon started to step out of the infirmary when the captain's voice told him to hold it right there.

"Simon." Simon turned on his heel, a bit surprised to hear Mal say his name instead of calling him 'doctor', like he usually did. He didn't know why it sounded so pleasant to his ears, but somehow it did.

"Yes, Mal."

"Don't dope me again. Shotwound or no, I have to captain a ship and I'm… I'm…" And with that, he passed out.

------------------------

"Hi Zoe, how are we doing?" Simon asked her as he walked onto the bridge where Zoe, Wash and Inara were crowding around the screens.

"Why, taking an interest in letting the Alliance know your whereabouts, doctor?" Zoe replied in a soft voice while she quickly steered him away from the screens so he wouldn't be seen on the monitors. Simon felt like kicking himself.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I promised the captain I'd come and see what's going on," he said apologetically.

"Don't worry, it's not that bad. Leave Inara to her tactics and she'll have them convinced to let us walk within the next half hour," Zoe said. There was not a hint of stress in her voice.

"Wow. That's great…" Simon said, a little surprised. "Could you go tell Mal what's happening? I really need to check up on River; she had some kind of episode back in that canyon. I had to see to Mal but he's stable now and I'd like to find out what happened. Besides, I had to ask Jayne to take her to our quarters, which is terrifying enough in itself.

Zoe couldn't help but grin. "Right. Better go look after her before Jayne sustains any major injuries. I'll go see to our captain."

------------------------

When Simon arrived at the passenger dorms, he found Jayne sitting outside of River's room, cleaning one of his guns. Simon blinked in confusion but kept his face a calm blank.

"She's asleep, doc," Jayne said casually and without looking up as Simon walked past him.

"Uhm, well… thank you for your concern, Jayne, but I really should examine her to find out what happened to her back on Beaumonde."

Jayne looked up at him and for a moment Simon saw a look in the other man's eyes that he couldn't quite place. If he didn't know any better, he would've thought it might have been compassion. Before he could take a second look, however, Jayne had gone back to cleaning his gun with his usual grim expression on his face.

Simon softly opened the door to River's room but he immediately realized he shouldn't have bothered, because the moment the door slid closed behind him, he saw her open her eyes in the half-dark of the room. She sat up quickly and scooted over so he could sit down next to her. Simon noticed her eyes were red and puffy from crying herself to sleep; the sight gave him a pang in his gut.

"Mei mei, what happened back there?" he asked, while gently stroking her hair. River closed her eyes and shrugged, keeping her lips firmly together. Simon let out a sigh.

"River, you have to tell me what happened or I won't be able to help you," he said. She just stared at him with eyes that were full of unbearable sadness, making Simon feel like an ice cold hand had closed tightly over his heart.

"You can't help," she said solemnly. "It's worse if you help, because everything is jaded and bloody," she continued, the anguish rising in her voice and welling up on her face. "And there's so much death, death and betrayal…" She started sobbing uncontrollably, flinging her arms around her brother's neck.

Simon just held her until she'd calmed down. Finally, she pulled back, wiped her face with her sleeve and locked eyes with him. "You have to go now," she said pleadingly. He nodded, he knew better than anyone else that it was better to give her what she needed when she was like this.

"All right. Just- just try to get some sleep. Okay, River?" he told her softly, and gave her a kiss on the forehead before he walked out of the room. Simon let out a deep sigh. River had improved so much over the last couple of months that it was incredibly frustrating to see her slide back like this… He felt so utterly helpless that he had to do _something_, so he decided to head back to the infirmary to check up on the captain. At least that was something he could actually _do_… What was he on the ship, if he wasn't a doctor and brother, he thought with another resigned sigh.

------------------------

"I'm well aware that it sounds suspicious," Inara's voice drifted towards him from the infirmary. Simon stopped dead in his tracks and waited on the other side of the sliding doors. "So you don't think for a second that the Alliance believed my story and simply let us walk?"

"Not if I know the Alliance at all," Mal said.

"It's not in the Alliance's nature to let anyone walk," Zoe said

Mal sighed. "Either there was something urgent or more important that came up, or there's something else that we don't know about yet, that they got up their sleeve…"

"Could be they already know Simon and River and on board and they're just biding their time… Do you think we should let the doctor know, sir?" Zoe asked. Simon involuntarily held his breath. If the Alliance had tracked him and River down, they had to leave the ship, right now…

"Best not to worry Simon unless we're sure of that though," Mal said. "But just in case, we'll figure out a plan… as soon as these gorram meds wear off…" He did still sound a bit slurred, Simon thought. Taking a look through one of the windows, he saw that Zoe was checking the monitors while Inara stood next to Mal, holding his hand and looking at him worriedly. Simon felt some kind of strange floppy feeling in the pit of his stomach and before he knew it, he'd opened the door and walked in as casually as he could – which obviously wasn't a convincing look for him.

"I really must insist that the captain gets his rest," he said stiffly. Both women nodded and left the room without another word.

"I believe I told you to stay down, captain," Simon said sternly but with a little smile as he looked at Mal, who was propped up on his elbows. Mal raised his eyebrows but placed himself flat on his back again anyway.

"The I.A.V. didn't hail us, so you and your sister are safe for now," Mal went on when he was staring at the ceiling again.

Simon let out a slow breath. Without looking up from the syringe he was filling, he said: "Oh. That's good… And you have faith that they let us go without any ulterior motives?"

Mal quirked an eyebrow and let out a short laugh, which obviously caused him some pain because it was immediately followed by a grimace. "Ow. If you're gonna be eavesdropping you might as well come in next time, doctor." he said with a slight grin.

Simon felt his cheeks redden. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help overhearing -"

"Don't apologize," Mal interrupted him. "Concerns you just as much as the rest of us, after all. Maybe more so. Point is, doctor," he added as he looked Simon in the eye, "you're both on my crew, and as long as you are I'm not gonna you or your sister get hurt, dong ma?"

Simon nodded and smiled, and for a moment he was really glad River wasn't in the room to read what he was thinking…

------------------------

"I have an announcement to make," Inara said.

"That sounds a mite onerous," Book said as he set down his fork and looked at Inara with an intent but kind expression on his face. Everyone who was seated at the table -- Wash was on the bridge and River was still asleep -- looked at the Companion expectantly. Everyone except for Mal, who was fiddling with his food and staring at his plate like it was the second coming.

"I'm leaving…" Her voice sounded normal and grounded and her body language was calm, but her eyes darted to each person at the table and lingered on Kaylee, who was frowning.

"For how long?" Kaylee asked carefully, and Inara could tell that she was afraid of what the answer might be.

"When we were on Beaumonde, I paid a visit to the Chapter House, and they assured me that there is a position for me there if I want it. They're expecting a wave from me tonight to inform them of my decision…" Inara said. The room had fallen so silent that they could hear Wash humming a jaunty tune on the bridge.

Inara looked at all of them in turn. As usual, Simon's and Zoe's face betrayed no emotion at all. Mal was still staring at his plate. The Shepherd was the only one giving her an encouraging little smile, saying, "It sounds like a wonderful opportunity, child." Jayne and Kaylee, on the other hand, looked decidedly grim. Jayne opened his mouth to say something, but before he could speak there was a scraping sound as Kaylee pushed her chair back.

"Scuse me, I need to go check on the engine," she mumbled, biting her lip before hurrying off. Her running footsteps echoed through the silent galley.

------------------------

"Cap'n?" Kaylee said in a small voice as she climbed down the ladder into Mal's bunk. Before he could reply, she had already jumped down the bottom three steps. "I went to the infirmary but Simon told me you were back in your bunk. He said to tell you that he'll be here to check on you later though, so you better be lyin' down," she said. Mal was standing at his desk looking through the list of all the repairs Serenity needed. He nodded but didn't sit down.

"What's the matter, Kaylee?" he asked her, even though he had a more than good idea what she wanted to talk about, especially as he looked at her. Her eyes were red from crying and even now she could barely stop her lips from trembling.

"Is 'Nara really leaving?" she asked. She found a chair and sat down, biting her lip and looking up at her captain. "And you knew she was?"

Mal nodded. "I did." Slowly and carefully he walked up to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "She wanted to tell all o'you herself, when she was sure when she'd be goin'." He sighed when the usually chatty Kaylee kept her jaw clenched. "Look lil' Kaylee, we might not understand her decision, but- "

"Oh, I understand fine!" she spat and got up, swatting away his hand as if it was an annoying little bug. "She's leaving because of you, isn't she? Tzao gao, she loves this ship but she just can't stay!" she shouted. Mal just looked at her, stumped. He'd seen his mechanic get testy before, but he didn't think he had ever heard her yell, especially not at _him_.

"This is all your fault," she continued loudly as she headed for the ladder and stomped up the steps. "You won't be happy until you chase everyone who cares about you off the ship!" And with that, she was gone and Mal was all alone.

------------------------

"How are we doing dear?" Zoe asked her husband, putting her arms around his neck and across his chest, and resting her head on his shoulder as he looked out into the black from the pilot's seat.

"Ah, my beautiful bride. All's shiny in the 'verse, at least for now." He kissed her forearm. "Am I right in thinking that I heard shouting just now? Musta missed something interesting again, huh…"

Zoe smiled slightly and leaned against the console so she was face to face with Wash. "You could say that. Inara's leaving the ship. For good," she said calmly, folding her arms.

"Yeah, sh- what? What d'you mean?" he exclaimed. "What brought that about?"

"Didn't ask, don't suppose it's any of our business… She says she's been offered a great position in the Chapter House on Beaumonde, but I don't think that's her reason for going…" She knew she didn't have to finish her train of thought when Wash nodded. "Anyway, she's gone into her shuttle to send them a wave right now…"

"So… that yelling I heard…" Wash said cautiously, already knowing the answer.

"That was Kaylee, yes. Yelling at the captain, is my guess… She's not taking Inara's decision very well, so I think she just needed to vent her feelings to someone. If I know our Kaylee, she won't stay angry for long. Still, a crew divided…" Zoe said pensively. Wash flashed her a supportive smile and pulled her onto his lap.

"Don't fret, lambie-toes, it'll all work out. We're not at war, remember?"

Zoe smiled and kissed her husband, even though she wasn't all that sure about that last part…

------------------------

"Captain?" Simon stood tentatively at the top of the ladder. He'd seen Kaylee storm past him without saying a word, which was strange enough in itself, maybe even stranger than hearing her yell at Mal, and he had decided to give Mal a few minutes to recuperate before checking on him.

"I'm here doctor. Come on down," Mal said, and Simon obliged.

"I hope this isn't a bad time, I heard Kaylee yelling at you and- "

"Don't reckon you're the only one on board this ship that did, doctor. She'll be fine, we just oughta give her some time to get used to the idea is all. Anyways, I don't much feel like talking about that just now."

Simon nodded in understanding and opened his red doctor's bag. "Don't worry captain, I won't bother you for long, I just need to check if you didn't tear any stitches. Are you in any pain?"

Mal couldn't help but observe Simon closely while the doctor checked his stitches. He looks exhausted, Mal thought… "No need to check up on me, I'm doing just fine, doctor. So how's about you sit down for a second? You look as though you might drop to the ground at any time," he said with a smirk.

To his surprise, Simon nodded and sat down on the chair next to Mal's bed. "You might be right," he sighed. "It's just… I spend so much of my time trying to find something that will make River better, and nothing is working…"

Mal frowned. "I thought she was doing a mite better? Saved all our lives getting rid of Jubal Early, didn't she… Why, is she getting worse again?" the captain asked in his 'are we gonna have trouble?'-voice.

"She had some kind of fit back on Beaumonde. Zoe called for Jayne as soon as we got into that gunfight. He had to bring River with him because none of the others had returned yet, but while you were getting shot, she collapsed and went into shock…" Simon rubbed his hands over his face. "I just… I just don't know what else I can do for her."

Mal smiled inwardly. Poor doctor was always sacrificing himself and never thought it was enough. He put his hand on Simon's forearm. "You've already done plenty, more than most would be prepared to do for their families. I'm sure you'll get your sister all fixed up soon enough."

The reassurance seemed to do the doctor some good, Mal thought. Simon put his hand on top of Mal's and gave him a grateful look. "Thank you, I hope you're right. That being said," he continued, "we really should get us more medical supplies. You were very lucky that the bullet didn't pierce any vital organs. You lost quite a lot of blood. If the wound had been any worse, I might not have been able to help you."

"Yeah, I feel very lucky," Mal replied with a chuckle that quickly turned to another grimace of pain.

"What happened back there anyway?" Simon asked as he injected the captain with another dose of painkillers. By the time he and Zoe had gotten back to where she had left Mal, the captain was already crouched behind a rock to avoid the bullets that were flying in his general direction.

"The usual. That hoetze de pigu thought he could cheat us out of good coin and take us out as soon as he had his hands on it," Mal told Simon with a casual shrug, followed by yet another grimace and a suppressed grunt of pain.

"Right. And he was one of your _trustworthy_ contacts?" Simon replied dryly, an eyebrow raised. "Did he at least tell you where to find that water supplier?"

"No such luck, I'm afraid. And if that supplier is as skittish about getting in the Alliance's way as Jack claimed he was, he ain't likely to do business with us now," Mal said, his voice sounding more tired by the minute. _Those gorram drugs must be kicking in again_… he thought, muttering to himself but failing to be actually annoyed at the doctor, who was only trying to help.

"I told Zoe to get us to the next border planet with decent supplies, don't much care who's selling it. Higher price or not, we need water to keep us going." He stifled another yawn before he continued. "Might be able to get us some of those medical supplies you've been on about while we're there."

"That'd be just perfect, captain. Now, you really should get some sleep. The more you rest, the sooner you'll be back on your feet."

Mal smiled at a classic example of Simon using his doctor-voice and nodded slightly as his eyelids started to droop. "Sounds like a good plan, doc. I'll just close my eyes for a second…" he mumbled as he felt sleep overpower him again. He noticed briefly that his hand was still resting on Simon's arm and that the doctor's hand was still on top of his. Then he drifted off into a deep and peaceful sleep.

------------------------

TBC in part 3


	3. Part 3

**Part three: where Inara leaves, the crewmembers drown their sorrows and things somehow get even worse…**

"Coming up on Persephone, sir," Zoe informed Mal, who was having a drink in the kitchen. "Our ETA is about 50 minutes from now. Oh, and Inara asks if she can talk to you in her shuttle before we land…" Mal nodded, immediately set his mug down and started to leave. Zoe raised an eyebrow, but Mal just shrugged and gave her an unreadable look before letting his eyes drift to the dinner table. Zoe followed his gaze and saw River sitting on the tabletop, hugging her knees and staring at Mal unblinkingly.

"Girl gives me the willies, been starin' at me like that for the past five minutes. And since I checked and I got nothing on my face, I find that mighty creepifying…" he said. Zoe grinned, and as Mal passed her by, he distinctly heard his first mate say: "You're frightening the captain sweetie, let's go see if we can find that brother of yours, okay?"

"Ching yin," Inara said when he entered the shuttle. There was a bit of an echo to her voice and when Mal opened the door, he knew why. All of the Companion's belongings were packed away and the room was as bare as it had been the day she'd rented it. _Seems like yesterday_, Mal thought. Refusing to show any emotions, he just said: "So… all set then?"

"I am. Everything is squared away, and there is someone coming to pick me up on Persephone to take me back to Beaumonde. I know it's not your favourite place to be right now, so…"

"Yeah, you ain't wrong about that," Mal said. For a moment he thought about whether or not he ought to speak his piece, before finally opening his mouth. "Inara…" he said softly, taking a step closer, but before he could continue she had pressed a small parcel into his hand. "Um, what's that?"

"That… is two months' rent for the shuttle in advance. It should give you enough time to find another tenant," Inara explained. When Mal frowned and made no attempt at all to accept the money, her eyes took on a pleading look. "Mal, please."

Mal's eyes softened and he took the money from her, but held on to her hand with his other hand all the same. "Inara," he said slowly and then, as if mustering up the courage he usually had so much of, "you know you don't have to do this. If- "

"Mal," she said with a sad smile that made her look even more stunning, if that was possible. "Don't do this." Mal didn't say anything else but didn't drop his gaze, and neither did she.

"Like I told you, I don't want to draw this out," she added in barely more than a whisper. Mal noticed that her voice was full of sadness but with great resolve, and he knew that there was nothing he could say to make her change her mind. He waved the small parcel to say 'thanks for the money' and headed for the door.

Pausing in the doorframe, he turned around and mumbled, "What about the rest of us? What about Kaylee? Who's gonna keep her out of trouble? Who's going to tell us to behave like civilized people when things are getting' rough?"

For a moment, the sadness in her big brown eyes was pushed to the background by a pearly white smile. "I think you will all be just fine," she replied smilingly.

------------------------

Inara had told the truth when she'd said that she didn't want to draw out her goodbyes: she simply gave everyone a quick hug in the cargo bay. Even Zoe, who wasn't much of a hugger. Kaylee on the other hand seemed to never want to let go.

"Bye 'Nara. Be careful. And don't go flyin' any ships that ain't looked after properly. They'll fall apart on you," she mumbled into the Companion's shoulder, her voice muffled from having her face buried in the fabric of Inara's dress. Then she stepped back with a stifled sob.

Inara didn't say a word but River could feel her sadness. It washed over her like a tidal wave, leaving her almost unable to breathe and afraid that she would drown if she did… It got even worse when Inara hugged her. "Bye sweetie. You have to take care of the others now, okay?" she said, her sweet voice ringing in River's ears like little bells. She smiled and River knew she was only half-serious. After Jubal Early they knew she could be trusted, maybe even helpful to the rest of the crew, but they would still never ask her to protect all of them. That was all right though, River thought as she smiled knowingly. Didn't matter. She still would.

------------------------

After the hovercraft picking up Inara had sped out of sight, everyone lingered around a bit, unsure of what to do next. Finally, Book and Simon made themselves scarce and headed back to the passenger dorms, Simon leading River along by her elbow. As fond as the three of them were of Inara, the Serenity crew had known her for almost a year before they had even joined them on board the ship, and they probably needed some time amongst themselves.

Jayne stared at his boots for a minute and then looked up defiantly. "Hell with this, I'monna go get plastered," he said gruffly. "Yeah. Good plan," Mal agreed, checking instinctively if his gun was still in his holster.

Zoe and Wash glanced at each other and smiled. "If you don't mind, sir, we'll stay here and look after the ship, in case something comes up- "

"Or in case we need to come and bail you out of jail later on," Wash finished his wife's sentence for her.

Mal just nodded distractedly and turned around again before setting off down the airlock ramp. "You comin' with us then, little Kaylee?" he asked.

Kaylee hesitated but then nodded, even though her heart didn't seem in it, and followed both men outside and to one of the many Eavesdown bars.

------------------------

"Y'know," Kaylee said loudly, pointing her finger at Mal and Jayne in turn. "Serenity and the people on it are all my family! All o'them!" she added, making a wide gesture with the hand that she was using to hold her glass of whiskey, so little splashes of the amber liquid soared across the table and landed on the table top as well as Jayne's sleeve.

"And you're my family as well cap'n, so I'm sorry I yelled at you. Wasn't very nice of me. I meant what I said though," she added, wagging her finger at Mal. Jayne let out a barking laugh at the sight of the young mechanic telling her captain off, and then took another large swig of his drink. "You'll chase us all off your ship 'fore the time comes!"

"What?" Mal spluttered as he set down his mug with a loud thunk. He looked downright insulted. "I wouldn't do any such thing!" Kaylee snorted loudly and went back to her drink.

Mal looked at the table and sighed softly. He'd never admit it to anyone on the ship, he didn't think, but he really hadn't wanted Inara to leave, far from it…

------------------------

"_What do you mean, 'you're leaving'?" Mal said as he stormed into the Companion shuttle moments after Inara had walked away from him._

"_Just don't, Mal. Please? I don't want to do this right now…" She managed to sound exasperated even though she didn't turn around to face him. She'd never give him the satisfaction of seeing her tear streaked face. _

_Mal just leaned against the wall, crossing his arms across his chest and showing no intention of leaving._

"_You knew what I was gonna tell you. Just now," he said, a grim but self-righteous look creeping onto his face. "You knew exactly what I was gonna say and you interrupted me, stopped me from speaking my piece. So, what I figure is, you were trying to save me from what would've been an awkward moment. Well, even more awkward…"_

_Inara spun around suddenly, looking more hurt than he'd ever seen her before. "Mal, no, that's not- "_

"_Thing is, you coulda just been honest. I'm a grown-up, I can take it. So…" he said, "as I said before, I ain't got no call on you, but if you're leaving anyhow, now is the time for you to tell me if there's anything I should know." He paused, bouncing on his heels. "Is there?" he added, doing his very best to keep his voice sounding cool and casual instead of hopeful and desperate._

"_There are some things that we can't say, Mal. Some things that are better left unspoken…" she said softly, staring at her feet._

"_You are absolutely right," he answered. Oh screw it, he thought. He leaned in and kissed her._

_Inara felt his lips brush against hers, carefully at first, as if he was afraid that she would break. She didn't blame him; it did seem like her knees could give way any moment. When he finally pulled back, she blinked and opened her eyes groggily._

"_Wow… And I didn't even pass out this time," she mumbled as she brought her fingertips to her lips._

"_I think I just might, though," Mal whispered with a little smile. Then he suddenly jumped to attention and his eyebrows soared. "Wait, what? What do you mean 'this time'?"_

"_Um, nothing," she replied, but even as she said it, she knew that she'd answered him too quickly to be convincing. Mal just blinked in confusion; but then the truth of what had happened dawned on him and one of those characteristic smug smiles appeared on his face._

"_Soooo…"he started to say with a devilish grin, but Inara rolled her eyes and took a step closer to him, chocolate brown curls dancing around her beautiful face._

"_Mal. Shut up." Inara wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him deeply. For a brief moment she was stunned by her own candor. She, who hated complications… _

_When she finally pulled away from him, she saw the stunned look he was giving her. With a twinkle in her brown eyes, she looked into his blue ones and said: "Don't talk. We always ruin things because we talk too much."_

"_Yeah, you're not wrong about that…" Mal chuckled as he leaned in for another kiss…_

------------------------

"We've got incoming," Wash said, looking over his shoulder at his wife.

Zoe looked up from checking the accounts of Serenity's income and expenses. She had never been the list-making kind of person, and the idea of a distraction –even a sign of trouble–made her breathe a sigh of relief.

"Oh thank God, I nearly died of boredom. Who's it from?" she asked as she got up from her chair to lean over her husband's shoulder and look at the screen. A bored-looking woman was looking back.

"Transport ship 'Serenity', you have received an urgent request for a meeting with the representative of Osiris in Parliament," her monotone voice crackled through the speakers. Zoe and Wash shot each other a nervous glance. Zoe leaned forward so her face was in front of the camera lens.

"This is first mate Zoe Warren of transport ship 'Serenity' speaking. Our captain is indisposed at the moment. Is it all right if we contact you later today?" The woman on the other end of the line looked slightly annoyed but agreed, saying that she would be back in touch within the next twenty-four hours. Then the connection went dead and Wash leaned back in his pilot's seat, blowing out his breath with puffed-up cheeks.

"Whew. Um, this is going to be bad, isn't it? I mean, first there's that Cruiser that suddenly stopped following us and now this?" he asked nervously. Zoe didn't answer him, but the look she gave him was pretty significant, not to mention less than comforting…

"Hey, wha's goin' on?" Kaylee mumbled, sticking her head in and squinting a bit to focus her unsteady gaze.

"Kaylee? Oh, nothing important yet. We'll work it all out when the captain gets back," Zoe replied. She'd rather wait a little while before doing or saying anything that would just worry the others. "Speaking of the captain, weren't you supposed to be in town with him and Jayne?"

"Eh. Wasn't a bit 'a fun. Jayne met this… 'woman'," she said, using air quotes for the last word, "and went upstairs, and the cap'n was just starin' at his drink with his eyes all glassy." She shrugged, and Zoe fought back a amused chuckle when the shrug almost made Kaylee lose her balance.

"Listen sweetie, we've got things covered here. I think go better go get some sleep- we'll wake you up if we need you here, okay?"

"Yeah, sounds shiny, I think I might…" Kaylee nodded, and she turned around and stumbled down the stairs while mumbling "G'night guys…"

------------------------

Mal cursed under his breath when he tripped on the ramp that led into the cargo bay. Heavy drinking and bar fights were always a bad combination - not to mention the fact that they had a lousy effect on his balance.

He shrugged off another memory of Inara while he picked himself up off the floor. _It's all in the past now_, he reminded himself. As he slowly made his way along the galley and to his bunk, he noticed that something was wrong. His shirt was sticky and he didn't feel so good. He looked down and frowned, forcing his brain cells to co-operate.

_Oh, this is bad. Uhm. Right, infirmary. Right. Good plan, _he thought to himself before turning around. He hoped to God that Simon was still awake and in the infirmary, he'd hate to go wake him in his bunk. Actually, he wouldn't, he thought to himself with a little grin, it would be sort of amusing… Now, which way was the infirmary again?

"Oh m- what did you do!" he heard Simon exclaim in the back of his brain, although it didn't really transmit that the doctor was talking to him until Simon grabbed his arm and led him into the infirmary. Placing a groggy Mal on a chair, Simon sighed as he stared at the captain's blood-soaked shirt.

"It looks like you tore about half of your stitches," he observed. "What happened?" Mal thought he sounded exasperated, worried and angry all at the same time.

"I'll have to cut it off – the shirt – because if the fabric has dried into the wound…" Simon trailed off. Mal heard him talking but nothing was really registering in his brain.

"Go right ahead," Mal interrupted slurringly and with a wave of his hand. "You're the doc, doc."

"Yes, I am." Simon smiled a rueful little smile as he carefully began to cut open Mal's shirt, exposing his bare chest around the wound. Mal forced back some thoughts that came drifting into his mind and told himself off sternly.

"No." Mal poked a finger against Simon's chest. "Simon. You're Simon. Not just the doctor. You should be Simon more often on the ship. 'Cause you're a person. Have to keep remembering that they're a person or they go away," he rambled. "Ow!"

------------------------

"Sit still, you'll tear them again," Simon said in a patient but firm voice while he quietly cleaned the last bits of blood off Mal's chest with a moist towel. Mal leaned forward a bit and closed his eyes. Simon had the distinct feeling that he'd fallen asleep and he took a step backwards to look at the captain.

"There, all done…" he said softly. Mal nodded, his eyes still closed and not attempting to get up at all. Simon couldn't help but frown. He was so used to the captain always being in control that it was incredibly unnerving to see him let go like this.

"He must really love her," he said in barely more than a whisper, ignoring the nauseated feeling he got in his stomach as he said it.

"He's sad," River's voice suddenly drifted in. A startled Simon spun around and saw his little sister looming behind him, looking like a portrait in the doorframe. "Sad and afraid. He doesn't want family to leave but he keeps chasing them away. Won't let anyone near his heart, even if he wants to. Can't help it…"

She cocked her head and looked at Mal with an expression of great pity. Then her eyes drifted to her brother. "You have to _help_ him."

"Help him? With what?" Simon asked. River just let out a deep sigh, turned around and strolled out of the infirmary.

------------------------

Mal woke up with a head that felt as if it would shatter into a million pieces at any moment, and the distinct feeling that there was somebody watching him…

"Ahem," Zoe coughed softly. The captain blinked, cursing inwardly at the light for being so bright. Then he realized that the light in his own bunk wasn't this bright, far from it. He opened his eyes grudgingly, painfully aware of the throbbing in his temples.

The first thing he saw was Zoe, standing in front of the infirmary bunk and looking thoroughly amused. Then he saw Simon, sleeping soundly with his head on Mal's shoulder.

_He must've dozed off and fallen over in his sleep_, Mal told himself. He suddenly wished like hell that last night wasn't a big black gaping hole in his memory. He looked at the top of the doctor's head and the mussed dark hair that moved ever so slightly with Mal's every breath.

Mal gave Simon a nudge, even though he didn't think he would have if Zoe hadn't been standing there with her arms crossed patiently and a smirk plastered on her face.

"Huh? What?" Simon muttered as he shot upright. "Oh, hi Zoe. What, um, what's going on?" he asked all business-like. Mal could tell he was trying to regain his composure – it's was fairly endearing, actually…

Zoe waited for just a moment longer – probably until she'd decided that she had made them uncomfortable enough, Mal thought. "Morning, captain… Didn't know you were back yet. We got a wave a couple of hours back, some Alliance official wanted to talk to our captain."

"What?" Mal muttered, suddenly very awake. He ruffled his fingers through his hair and sat up straight, thinking for a moment before making a decision. "Zoe, contact Badger and tell him we'll be at the rendez-vous like we agreed."

"Sir, that's in half an hour," Zoe stated blankly. Mal stared at her and blinked. Then he checked the time and groaned.

"Well, we'll just have to hurry then, won't we? Tell Wash and Kaylee to gear up Serenity. I'll have my talk with the Alliance brass once the job's done and we're back on the boat, but I want her fuelled up and ready to hightail it in case we have to. Okay?" Zoe simply nodded at her captain's orders and disappeared to the bridge while Mal followed her outside to get ready, leaving Simon on his own in the infirmary.

------------------------

"Well, well, if it ain't Malcolm Reynolds, our noble sergeant, come to ask little old me for help. Now ain't that something, fellas?" Badger told his trusted gang with a smug grin.

"We ain't asking you for help, Badger, just looking to make an honest business transaction here," Mal said, letting his pride get the better of him. He spoke calmly, but his fingers were twitching next to the holster of his gun, ready to draw if the situation called for it. Glancing over his right shoulder he saw that Jayne and Zoe were having the same reaction. Badger and his associates probably didn't even notice, but Mal knew his crew well enough to see that their senses were heightened and that they were ready to react if it turned out that Badger had ambushed them.

"We got your money, so let's none of us make a fuss," the captain added, looking to put Badger at ease. There was no point in having a tussle and risking their lives if it wasn't necessary.

Mal looked around. He hated this place. Badger referred to it as 'his office', but to Mal it was nothing but a cramped trailer, too full of knick-knacks that Badger considered trophies and exhibits of his prestige. It was smack dab in the middle of the market area, too. Mal preferred his own surroundings as empty as the black. As far as he was concerned, there was nothing better than an empty sky or a drop point in a desert valley… There were too many things that could go wrong down here, too many factors to take into account…

Badger smirked. "Rubbish. But seeing as you ask me so nicely, let's say you give us half the coin now and I'll see that you'll get your water delivered to that rusty old scrap heap of yours within the next twelve hours," he said, twirling his bowler hat in his hands.

"No can do, Badger. We have to be off this rock sooner than that. Can you make it in four hours?" Mal said. For a moment, Badger seemed annoyed that Mal wasn't more intimidated by him.

"Well, if you pay more, you get a faster delivery, dong ma?" he snapped. "Oh and speaking of which, there is a small change in the deal that might interest you…" Badger flashed them a wide smile.

------------------------

Book walked into the infirmary when Simon was in the middle of a rare moment of doing absolutely nothing. He was just sitting, deep in thought. When he heard Book enter, he looked up and saw him frown.

"What's the matter, son? You seem rather distraught…"

"Hi Shepherd. I don't know… I guess I was just thinking about what happened to River back in that canyon and what could have caused it."

Book's eyebrow rose. "That's what you were thinking? Because you seemed to be more… disappointed than anything else."

He gave the doctor one of his piercing looks and Simon felt the wall he'd set up around himself beginning to crumble. Shepherd Book could make him seriously uncomfortable at times, Simon thought as he remembered the conversation he had had with Book about Shan Yu. For some reason, it made him less inclined to share his feelings with him.

"It doesn't matter now. The captain, Zoe and Jayne will be back any minute. We better get ready for take-off, we might have to leave in a hurry."

------------------------

"Oh no. No way, no how, Badger." Mal folded his arms and looked defiantly at Badger.

"That's the deal, Reynolds, take it or leave it. Ain't too bad a deal, either. You do me this little favour of getting my package on Paquin and delivering it back to me, and I'll give you a discount on your water. There's many who'd kill for that kinda deal."

"I don't care, it's too risky. I don't transport that kind of cargo. I'm more than willing to pay you the price we agreed, I don't need no discount…" Mal said with all the calm he could muster. Badger's eyes shot daggers at him.

"I wasn't asking, Reynolds," he said and Mal heard the cocking of guns from his left and right. In a reflex he went for his own hand weapon and he saw Jayne do the same, but before he could draw he felt Zoe's hand on his arm.

"Sir, maybe we should consider this." Her voice was calm and controlled. "We're not rolling in cash as it is, and the transport wouldn't take us more than a week."

Jayne gave her an incredulous stare. "Are you off your gorram axle? This is gonna be nothing but trouble, mark my words!" he said angrily.

Mal looked from one to the other. In his gut he was inclined to agree with Jayne, but Zoe made a good point. The water would cost them a lot of money, and if they got a discount they'd be able to stock up on spare parts and those medical supplies the doctor was always yakking on about.

"Fine. You give us twenty-five percent off on our water and pay for our fuel to get us to Paquin and back, and you got a deal."

Badger grinned and held out his hand. "Deal."

------------------------

"We're back," Mal said as he joined Wash on the bridge.

"Good. It took you longer than expected, didn't it? Did you get the water?" Wash asked.

"We did. Jayne, Zoe and Kaylee are stocking it up as we speak. And we got ourselves a job, too – well, more or less. Set course for Paquin."

Wash looked around in surprise. "Paquin? Okay, but I hope you're not in a hurry. The engine controls have been acting up and I'd already set up a course so it's gonna take us a good half hour before we can take off. Why, what's on Paquin?"

Mal shrugged. "We're picking up something for Badger and bringing it back here for him. He's paying for our fuel and gave us discount on our water purchase, so we got a good deal."

"Wow, yeah you did. Guy must want that cargo pretty bad, huh?" Wash said with a grin.

Mal just shrugged. "Guess so. Anyway, work's work," he said as he turned to leave.

_So not in a sharing mood, then. Fine, I can take a hint_, Wash thought, reminding himself to ask Zoe later on about what had happened.

At that moment, the screen monitor flashed on, showing the bored face of the same woman Wash and Zoe had talked to before. "Mal, hold on. That Alliance woman just got back in touch."

"Great," Mal replied with a sigh. "'Cause my day was so perfect until now. I'm on it. Go get Zoe, will you?"

Wash nodded and got up from his seat so Mal could sit down. Then he hurried off to find his wife.

------------------------

Hot coffee slopped over the edge of Simon's mug and onto his hand as Wash raced past him, nearly knocking him over. The pilot skidded to a halt and gave Simon an apologetic look. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it. It's not like it was actual coffee," Simon answered him with a shrug, while he licked the spilled liquid from the back of his burned hand. "Just coffee-coloured hot water," he added with a grimace.

There was no use in going back to his dorm with an empty mug, Simon thought and he made his way back to the kitchen.

"I told 'em it was a ruttin' bad idea to begin with, but them never listen to me…" Jayne's voice drifted towards him. "But I couldn't exactly tell 'em what you told me, could I?"

"It's just hitch hiking. Not the worst part. Things are gonna get much, much worse," River said. Simon frowned. What in the 'verse was River talking about – and why was she talking about it to _Jayne_ of all people?

"Um, River? Everything all right?" Simon tried to hide the disapproval in his voice when he walked into the kitchen and saw River and Jayne sitting next to each other at the dinner table.

River turned and she smiled a happy smile that warmed her brother's heart. "We're fine, Simon. You're needed on the bridge."

Simon sighed. Even though he wanted to ask why they needed him there, he fought the urge to do so. He'd learned a long time ago that there was no point in asking his little sister questions when she didn't intend to answer them. Instead he just gave Jayne a stare that clearly meant 'leave my sister alone' before heading for the bridge.

"All right, put him through." The captain's voice sounded less than enthused. Simon glanced into the room from the corridor in case he wasn't meant to be seen. He knew right away that he'd done the smart thing. He could barely make out the woman on the monitor, but she was clearly wearing an Alliance employee's uniform. Not a Fed… it almost looked like an office uniform, worn by secretaries, bank tellers and the likes…

Why would the captain be talking to someone like her?… The question pounded in Simon's brain, but he didn't have time to think about it further. The next words that came out of the secretary's mouth made Simon's blood freeze in his veins.

"Thank you, Captain Reynolds. We are now patching you through to Representative Gabriel Tam."

TBC


	4. Part 4

**Part four: where the journey through the black makes everyone go amite stir-crazy**

Mal sat motionless in the pilot's seat and stared at the screen.

_Gabriel Tam? Does that mean…_

He didn't even have the time to finish the thought before all of his doubts were taken away when Gabriel Tam appeared in front on-screen. There was a striking family resemblance -- in the dark hair, even if it was streaked with grey, the handsome features and the reserved demeanour. Gabriel Tam looked a lot more self-confident than his son, though.

"_Ni hao_. Good afternoon, Captain Reynolds. Or, at least I gather it's afternoon where you are? Persephone, am I right? You're not an easy man to track down."

"Wouldn't know, I haven't looked out the window yet." Mal made sure his face betrayed no emotion. Simon and River's father or not, he was Alliance, after all. Mal had no proof that he could trust this man, and Gabriel Tam seemed to realize this. He smiled a smile that made perfectly clear he wasn't happy.

"I can see that you're a man of action, Captain, and not of words. Let me cut right to the chase. For some time now, I have been trying to find my children, Simon and River Tam. I'm a rather influential man, and since a lot of people are looking to get into my good graces, I have received plenty of information regarding their whereabouts. Most of these clues are rubbish of course… but the funny thing is that your name keeps popping up wherever I look. Malcolm Reynolds, captain of the Firefly-class ship 'Serenity'. An odd coincidence, isn't it?"

Mal flashed the man his most charming smile. "Odd, not uncommon. There are those who have taken an irrational dislike towards me. Could just be their way of settling the score…" he said.

The man on the other end of the line seemed to be getting impatient. "Captain, I have exactly no time for games. Have you seen my children? Are they currently on your ship?"

"Can't say that I have, but I'll keep an eye out for them and let you know if I see them, sir," Mal said as politely as he could force himself to be. Then he shut down the connection briskly, and just in time because the next moment, Simon was storming onto the bridge, looking furious.

"What the hell do you think you're doing? You're planning to sell us out to our father, aren't you?" he shouted.

"So, that _was_ in fact your father? I figured as much… Man could've been an impostor, of course. You can't ever trust the Alliance," Mal said, trying very hard not to lose his calm.

"Oh please, as if you didn't know!" Simon spat. "_You're_ the one who can't be trusted -- you've probably been planning this for weeks!"

_That's it_, Mal thought as he lost his temper. "I thought I made it abundantly clear that you and your sister are safe on my boat, and I don't much feel like getting into it again."

"Right," Simon said, his eyes narrowing in disbelief, "so how was my father able to track us to your so-called 'safe' boat? Especially since he made it very clear he wouldn't come for us again!"

Mal blinked. He didn't know anything about Simon and River's youth, mainly because his own past kept him more than busy enough, but apparently the Tam family wasn't as picture perfect as Mal had assumed they were.

"I don't know, son, but I think you oughta ask him that instead of me. Now, why don't you just calm yourself down and -- "

"Stop talking to me like I'm a kid!" Simon interrupted, his teeth gritted in anger. "I'm more than capable of making my own decisions. _I_ decided to stay on this ship, but if we've outstayed our welcome all you have to do is say so, and we're gone." The young doctor stared at Mal defiantly, his eyes blazing.

Mal pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Just this once, I'd want -- "

"You don't know _what_ you want," Simon spat before Mal could finish his sentence. With that he stalked off, leaving a baffled Mal in his wake and nearly knocking over Wash and Zoe as they walked onto the bridge.

"Whoa." Wash barely managed to avoid Simon by quickly pressing himself against the wall. He gave his wife a questioning frown, mouthing, "What in the _tyen shiao duh_?", but Zoe just shrugged.

"Finally. Took you long enough," Mal snapped when he saw them.

Zoe raised an eyebrow. "Seems the doctor's good mood is infectious," she said dryly.

Mal gave her a look, then he jerked his thumb at the monitor. "That call… was from the good doctor's father."

"_Tamade_!" Wash said. "Ouch. So um, I guess Simon didn't want to be found?" Wash grimaced as he rubbed his right shoulder, which he'd smacked against the wall to avoid Simon, and sat down in his chair.

"So, what happens now?" Zoe asked.

Mal sighed. "Don't know yet, but if this means the Alliance has tracked us down and has an idea of the doc and his sister bein' on board… then we need a plan."

"Oh good," Zoe said with a sarcastic smile. "Something new and different for us."

"Wash, stay on course for Paquin. Alliance or no, Badger will have our hides if we don't do this job right," Mal told him while he signalled Zoe to follow him.

"Can do!"

------------------------

"… 48… 49… 50!" Jayne grunted as he pulled himself up for the last time before letting himself drop back onto the metal floor of the cargo bay. A giggle came from above. Book and Jayne both looked up to see River sitting on the catwalk, her legs dangling from the side.

"You cheated! 49 and counting." She giggled even though her chin was perched on the handrail. "Have to do it over in front of the class," she added solemnly and gave Jayne an I'm-not-joking-with-you look. Book chuckled.

"She seems to have taken quite an interest in you lately," he said, giving Jayne an enquiring glance.

"_Hoe tze_, an interest in pissing me off, more like," Jayne answered. He was fighting back a grin though. No point in denying that it was flattering, actually... Still, even though he had learned to get along with the _fong luh_ girl, that didn't mean he trusted her one little bit.

"Go on girl, don't you got better things to do?" he said, looking up at her like he picked up his weights; but River just gave him a sweet smile and didn't move a muscle. Jayne sighed. "Hell with it, I'm gonna go clean my guns."

------------------------

Nearly everyone was already in the kitchen when Mal and Zoe walked in. Book was helping Kaylee prepare dinner while she was apparently talking his ear off. Jayne was sitting at the table with a bunch of his guns laid out, cleaning them with tender care. River was sitting next to him, watching the guns and apparently drinking coffee by the gallon.

"… And I was laughing somethin' fierce! Oh hi cap, Zoe! Chow's ready in fifteen minutes," Kaylee said cheerfully. Her bad mood seemed to have melted away completely, and Mal really couldn't be happier about that. Kaylee was the sunshine they all needed to survive out here in the black…

"Hi Kaylee. Seen the doc, by any chance?" he asked as he looked around the room.

"Stampeded past us," Jayne answered for her without even looking up.

Mal nodded and started heading for the passenger dorms when he felt a warm hand close tightly around his wrist.

"Not yet," River said calmly, tilting her head back so she could look into the captain's eyes. "You have to let him sulk until he gets bored and comes back out again. He always does that." She sighed deeply. "He really can be very tiresome." Then she let go of Mal's wrist and, ignoring the looks she was getting from everyone, went back to studying the guns on the table.

Mal turned to Kaylee and Book with a frown. "I'm not rightly sure it's such a good idea to give her all that coffee," he said, rubbing his wrist which had the imprints of River's fingers on it. Kaylee giggled.

"Now this here is a real thing o' beauty," Jayne was saying as he picked up one of the hand rifles. "This is a .42 calibre…"

"54-R sniper rifle. Customized trigger, double cartridge…" River added, stroking the barrel thoughtfully. "Can blow a hole right through a wall."

"Damn straight!" Jayne answered with an appreciative look that took in both the rifle and River.

Mal rolled his eyes. "I don't mean to interrupt anything here, but we really should discuss what it is we're gonna do about -- " He paused and glanced at River, unsure if he ought to tell her. It turned out he shouldn't have been.

"My dad?" River asked, watching him intently. "Because we don't know why he's looking for us and how he found us?"

For the second time in a matter of minutes, everyone stared at River. Mal wasn't even surprised anymore, so he just nodded. "That's pretty much it, yeah." He should've known she was already in the loop on everything. The girl always was.

"Wait, that call was from Simon and River's dad?" Kaylee looked from River to Mal, wide-eyed. "_Cai bu shi_! How was he even able to find 'em?"

"Technically he hasn't found 'em yet, since I didn't admit to him that they're on this boat. The man seemed pretty sure of his case, though… Still, I better go fetch the doctor, we can't very well make any decisions without him, can we?" Mal said.

------------------------

"Simon?"

Simon looked up. Mal entered his room just as he was brushing the creases out of his shirts. Before all of this, he'd never have thought that he would one day miss their old servants. _Doesn't matter, I'd rather die before I go back there_, he thought to himself.

"Looking spiffy as usual, doc. No need to primp on my behalf." Mal flashed him a cheeky grin.

Trying his very best to stay angry at Mal, Simon rolled his eyes and said, "What do you want?"

Mal frowned. "Everyone's waiting in the galley to make a proper decision about what to do about that father o' yours. As for me, I'd very much like to know why you exploded in my face just now. I thought I made it clear I'm not one who's prone to back-stabbing," he said, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Simon sighed. "I know, I just -- wait, what happened to your wrist?" He took hold of Mal's arm and looked carefully at his wrist, where the marks River's fingers had made were quickly turning into bruises.

"Huh? Oh, that's just your darling sister's idea or persuading me not to come and see you. Stronger than she looks, ain't she?" Mal answered with a smirk.

Simon took a step back -- even though he didn't let go of Mal's wrist -- and stared at the captain with near-panic. "Mal, I'm sorry. I -- I'll tell her to calm down, I promise…"

Mal chuckled and shook his head. "You're a piece of work, anyone ever tell you that? How many times do I have to tell you? You're part of my crew, and I'm not gonna sell you out to the Alliance. Not now. Not ever. Dong ma? And I'm not planning on throwing you and your sister off the ship either -- unless o'course you keep yammering on like you are," he added, his blue eyes twinkling.

Simon was doing his very best to focus on the matter at hand instead of Mal's eyes, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. "I, um, I know. I just… can't help worrying about her. And you _did_ say that you'd kick us off the ship if she couldn't be controlled."

"Yeah, but I _meant_ if she got us all killed or some such. Hell, I'm not gonna toss her out the airlock for bruising my arm! There wouldn't be anyone left on my boat." He flashed Simon yet another charming smile and gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Come on now, Kaylee and the Shepherd made us dinner," he added as he turned to leave.

"Mal, wait." Simon still hadn't let go of Mal's arm, and he doubted if Mal had even noticed until now. He knew he was blushing but he had to get this off his chest before he imploded. "There's something you don't know. Or, at least, I think that you don't know…" he trailed off nervously.

Mal raised his eyebrows impatiently. "Well, get on with it son, I ain't got all day. There's business that needs attendin', you know."

Simon glared at Mal. Fine, if he was going to be like that… He let go of Mal's wrist brusquely. "Fine, what's keeping you? It's probably not important anyway! If you would just take the time to listen to the people around you for five minutes, you might actually get more out of life than just living from one job to the next!" he said loudly.

Simon could hardly believe he was saying all of this, especially to the captain. He wasn't usually so prone to stand up to someone who had any kind of control over him -- unless it was something that really mattered to him. And there was just something about Mal that got under Simon's skin. Nobody pushed his buttons like the captain did, not even Jayne…

And so Simon just couldn't stop yelling. "You keep hiding in the past. The war is over for everyone else, but you still use it as an excuse to avoid all human contact!" He stared Mal right in the eyes. "And that makes you a coward."

For a moment, Mal hesitated, although Simon could see his fingers twitch, and he was sure Mal was going to hit him.

The next thing he knew, Simon felt himself getting pushed against the wall by Mal and kissed fiercely.

Even though he was still furious with Mal -- or maybe _because_ he was furious with him -- Simon couldn't suppress a low moan when he felt Mal's lips crush his own. Before he could stop himself, he'd pressed his body up against Mal's, but pulled away immediately when he felt him wince with pain.

"Oh God, Mal, I'm sorry," Simon stammered. "I completely forgot."

Mal grimaced. "Don't worry, I'll live." Then reality seemed to hit him and he stared at Simon, whose face was still only inches away from his own. "Right. Huh. Can't say I've ever done that before…" he mumbled awkwardly.

Her took a step back and scratched his head, obviously embarrassed; which Simon found incredibly charming. Fighting the urge to kiss Mal again, Simon took a deep breath and decided that now was as good a time as any. "Actually, that's not entirely true."

Mal blinked. "What now?"

"It's not true. That's what I wanted to say just now. And it's partly why I got so upset before. You, um," he said nervously, fiddling with a button on his vest, "you kissed me yesterday, too. In the infirmary."

He looked up at Mal, who was just staring at him in wide-eyed disbelief, and swallowed hard before he continued. "You were very drunk, and I'm sure you couldn't be held responsible and that you probably don't even _remember_ it. But… But I guess that's why I got so angry before. For a moment, I thought that maybe you contacted my father because you wanted me off the ship. Because things had gotten too complicated…" he finished in a small voice. Then he took another deep breath and finally shut up. He could still feel himself glowing a deep red, but he couldn't be sure if it was because he was embarrassed or because of that kiss…

Mal seemed to be just as mortified, staring at the floor and continuing to scratch his head. Then he seemed to recompose himself and looked up with a casual smile. "Why would it be complicated?" he said with a shrug. "Like you said, I was drunk. Couldn't be held accountable, right?"

Simon stared back at him in disbelief. "Yes, but you weren't drunk just _now_!" he said, getting worked up again. Mal just chuckled, which only infuriated him more.

"Must not be completely sober yet then, huh," he said, turning on his heel. "Chow's ready, we better get over there or Kaylee'll throw a fit." And with that he strolled out of the room, leaving a stunned Simon behind.

------------------------

Dinner would have been more comfortable in the fires of hell, Simon thought to himself. The whole crew knew he'd been upset about his father's message and they all seemed determined to avoid bringing up the subject. Or maybe they were just waiting for Mal to start discussing a plan.

Mal however was doing everything he possibly could to ignore Simon, making jokes and asking Kaylee or Zoe questions. He never met Simon's eye, no matter how many furtive or downright spiteful looks Simon shot at him.

One by one, the crew went back to work or said goodnight. Mal was the first to go, saying he had business on the bridge.

_He seems to be in a big hurry to be out of the room_, Simon thought bitterly.

Soon enough Wash and Zoe went to their bunk, Book and River went to bed, and Jayne decided to do another spot of training before heading to his bunk. It wasn't before long that Simon found himself alone in the room with Kaylee.

"Let me give you a hand with the dishes," he said with a smile. He felt a bit bad for neglecting her over the past couple of days, even though so much had been going on that he didn't know where he could have found time to spend with her. He grabbed a dishcloth and clumsily began to dry a mug.

Kaylee laughed. "Wow, you really haven't ever done much o' this, huh?" she giggled. "It's nice of you to offer though. I don't mind doin' these on my own, but it's always nicer if you have someone to talk to, ain't it?" she said. Simon noticed her expression had become a bit sad. "I don't have anyone I can really talk to anymore, now that 'Nara left…"

"You can talk to me," Simon said with a smile, and she smiled back, even though there was still an air of sadness about her. "You really miss her, don't you?" he added tentatively.

"Well yeah… Well, not as much as the cap'n!" she added with a wink and a wave of her hand that made bits of foam land on Simon's shirt. "_Ai ya_, those two…" She whistled. "They really loved each other, I could tell."

Simon breathed deeply, not wanting to betray his emotions. He talked with Kaylee as she finished rinsing out the cups, and laughed, and tried very hard not to think about Mal and Inara. He'd been doing that a lot…Simon had tried to dislike Inara, but she of course had made that simply impossible. From then on, complete denial had been his only option.

When the dishes were done, Simon told Kaylee goodnight and headed down the stairs to the infirmary. He had grown to love this ship but if Mal was going to continue playing games with his head, then 'Serenity' would be far too small for the both of them -- and it was still days before they'd reach Paquin.

Simon sighed. He really didn't know what to think. Part of him wanted to jump for joy over that kiss, another part was utterly confused about Mal's reaction, but for the greatest part he was just bitter and angry and felt like hitting someone. Where was Jayne when you needed him?

------------------------

Jayne carefully put his weights out of harm's way and walked up the stairs that led out of the cargo bay. He wasn't even past the infirmary yet, when he heard screams and wails coming from River's room.

"What's that ruttin' girl up to now? She'll wake up the entire ship," he said, half aloud. Still, he felt a mite curious about what was going on, and he opened the door to see her trashing about, struggling with her blanket and lost in what looked like a horrible nightmare.

"River? You're dreamin'!" he said as he rushed to the bed and held her tightly as her arms and legs were flailing around wildly. "Gorramit girl, hold still!"

River sobbed and ranted incoherently as she slowly woke up. She gasped for breath and he could feel her heart pound against every inch of her skin. Her small fists clawed into Jayne's shirt in a reflex, as if trying to assure herself that he was real.

Burying her head against his shoulder and flinging her arms around his neck, she cried uncontrollably. He could feel her warm breath through the fabric and it made his hair stand on end.

He waited patiently for her to calm down and patted her awkwardly on the back. "It's, um… it's okay," he mumbled. He had to say _something_ comforting, didn't he? "It's just a dream, nuthin' to get all worked up about."

River looked up at him, her eyes wild and panicked. "They going to take me away! Please, please don't let them take me back," she sobbed, burying her face in Jayne's t-shirt again. "Please…"

She pulled back and looked at him, her hair clinging to her wet cheeks and her big brown eyes seeking his, begging for help.

He swallowed hard. "'Course I won't," he said hoarsely, squeezing her shoulder and attempting a little comforting smile. She looked back, letting the moment linger on… River didn't move a muscle; she just stared at him, her face inches from his own.

"Called me River…"

"What?" Jayne frowned. He was trying very hard to concentrate…

"Before -- you called me River. Never called me River before." She stared at him with a pensive frown. "Call your weapons names, because they matter. Like the ancient Babylonians on Earth-That-Was, things only have meaning if they have a name. If it doesn't have a name, it doesn't exist. Doesn't matter." She wiped her cheeks dry. "Do I matter?"

Slowly, she brought her hand up to his face. Jayne frowned. He'd never really thought about it. Hell, it wasn't like anyone had ever asked him that before… He barely understood what the hell she was talking about in the first place.

_It all sounds like a bunch of fei hua to me, but does it really matter? She's usually right, anyway…_ Jayne drew in a sharp breath as his body was making some decisions for him…

Before River's fingers could touch his face, he took her hand in his own and slowly started to pull her closer until their noses almost brushed together…

"Never kiss on the lips. Why not? Because it shows feelings, a connection -- shows that you care?" she asked suddenly.

------------------------

She hadn't even sensed Simon entering her room. All she'd felt was Jayne's desire, crashing like waves on a cliff in a summer storm, pounding in her ears like a war drum. Now even the waves were drowned out by Simon's rage, burning inside him with the deafening roar of a forest fire.

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing!"

TBC


	5. Part 5

**Part five: where River and Jayne face the inevitable, the cargo is…different and Simon makes a very stupid decision…**

"Son of a bitch!" Before he even knew what he was doing, Simon had grabbed Jayne, pulled him away from River with all of his strength and punched him hard on the nose.

Jayne stumbled and fell off the bed, while Simon gasped in pain and shook his hand. _Cao gao, that hurt more than I expected_, he thought as he heard River gasp. He hoped with all his heart that she was being compassionate towards him and not Jayne…

"You got a deathwish, little man?" Jayne growled as he pushed himself onto his feet with one hand and tried to stop his nose from bleeding with the other. Simon ignored the throbbing in his hand and shoved Jayne against the wall of the dorm with force that surprised even himself. It was only the adrenaline though, because Jayne pushed Simon back and freed himself within seconds.

"You… you stay away from River," Simon panted.

Jayne raised his eyebrows. "Hell, it wasn't like I was trying to sell her out to the Feds!" he said with a provocative glare at Simon.

Simon felt his jaw drop. He didn't know what to say. He was so furious that he couldn't even _think_ anymore. He was only vaguely aware that the noise he was making had made Kaylee and Shepherd Book hurry over to them.

Taking two steps closer to Jayne, Simon stared up at him, his jaws clenched in anger. "From now on, you stay away from River," he said in a low, menacing tone.

"Or what?" Jayne stared back at Simon while still pinching the bridge of his nose to stop the bleeding.

Simon smiled, suddenly feeling very calm. "I'm not a soldier, Jayne. I won't be able to take you in a fight. But I _do _know my anaesthetics. Forget everything I told you about feeling safe with me as your medic. If I _ever_ see you near my sister again, you better not go to sleep. Because you won't wake up anymore."

In the deafening silence that followed, Book and Kaylee glanced at each other and ushered Jayne out of the room without so much as a word, even though Kaylee was looking a bit shocked at his outburst. Simon didn't blame her; _he_ couldn't even remember ever being this angry before.

With a sigh, he sat down on the bed next to River and put his face in his hands.

"Are you alright, _mei mei_?" he asked her. She was still sitting in the exact same position as she had been when he'd walked in, half upright and looking at her brother with great interest.

"Are _you_?" she bounced back the question, staring at Simon unblinkingly.

_Good question_, Simon thought. _I don't even know what I'm doing anymore. Just when I think we've found a place on this ship, everything gets complicated again._ He sighed. It was bad enough that Mal had decided it would be a fun thing to play games with his head, now he had to keep Jayne away from his sister as well….

He took a deep breath. "I'm fine, River. But…" He paused before he finished his sentence, mainly because he wasn't sure how he felt about it and wanted to hear himself say it out loud. "But maybe we shouldn't stay…"

River stared at him with something that seemed like pure terror. "No… No, Simon, we can't go!" Simon immediately felt bad for even suggesting it, since his sister started sobbing and throwing her pillows against the wall in frustration. "Things'll get worse! Oedipus alone would understand but not the kings! They wouldn't, so please don't make me, please please please…" she ranted as she gave her brother a pleading look.

"No one is making you do anything, _mei mei_…" he said, taking his sister in his arms. For a while Simon simply held her, stroking her hair and shushing her until she calmed down. He hated seeing her like this, and he hated not being able to do anything about it…

Finally, River's breathing had gone back to normal and her crying was reduced to some stifled sobs. Simon brushed some strands of hair out of River's face and gave her his comforting-big-brother smile. "Get some rest, okay River? We'll talk about it in the morning."

He looked at her for a spell while she dozed off. _I don't really feel like leaving either, but I don't think this ship is a safe haven for you anymore_, he thought as he walked out and to his own room.

"It never was," a small voice said behind his back.

-----------------------------------

Mal looked out into the endless nothing that surrounded them. He loved being on the bridge at night, when everyone was asleep and it was just him, his ship and the black.

Well, _usually_ he loved it, anyway. Tonight he was too troubled to enjoy it much. His mind kept darting back and forth and making crooked turns until he wasn't even sure what he'd been thinking about in the first place. It all kept coming back to the same thing though…

"_Mal, we have to stop this."_

"_Stop what?" Mal said casually, continuing to kiss Inara's neck._

_She let out an exasperated sigh and got up from the comfortable chair, facing Mal and attempting to look annoyed but failing hopelessly._

"_This." She made a wide gesture that could easily encompass the shuttle. "Us. All that comes out of it, is that it's making it that much harder for me to leave!"_

_Mal got up, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him. "Well, no one is forcin' you to leave…"_

_She smiled. "Don't try to make me change my mind, Mal. I've been offered a great position at the Chapterhouse; it would be foolish not to take it."_

"_Right," Mal said, letting go of her abruptly, "because walking away now is such a smart thing to do. Let me tell you, Inara. If it's foolish to choose family, and friends and freedom instead of a career, then you can call me a fool any day!"_

"_Come on, Mal. You know it wouldn't be three days before we were at each other's throats again." She smiled but her eyes couldn't hide the sadness she was feeling, not even slightly._

"_I can't believe this," Mal said, shaking his head as he crossed his arms and looked at her. "You're actually gonna throw this away, huh? I guess that's how we're different, you and I. I don't let go of these kinds of opportunities."_

"_See," Inara replied, showing him the kindest of smiles, "we can't even say goodbye without fighting."_

_Mal fell silent. "We're saying goodbye?"_

"_We are." She gave him a soft kiss on the lips and turned around, her long skirts floating around her as she walked out of the shuttle._

-----------------------------------

"Coming up on Paquin."

"Thank God for that," Zoe said to her husband while she continued massaging his neck. The Paquin sunrise was already blossoming in front of them, it wouldn't be long before they broke atmo. Zoe couldn't say she felt particularly bad about that -- over the past couple of days, there had been so much tension on the ship that at times she felt like she was carrying a hand grenade and had to tread softly or it would set off.

For five days straight, it had been the same tune over and over again. Mal had avoided Simon; River had been ranting incoherently about death, blood and other things that made Kaylee go pale; and Simon had been giving Jayne a death stare as soon as he came within twenty feet of River – which was a mite problematic considering that Serenity wasn't that big a ship.

Zoe had no idea what was going on, and frankly she didn't think she _needed_ to know. It was none of her business and if it mattered, the captain would fill her in. That wasn't what she felt worried about.

"Honey?"

"Yes, lambie-toes?" Wash replied, looking at her over his shoulder. He frowned when he saw her staring pensively at the planet in front of them that was quickly becoming larger. "What's the matter?"

"I don't know. Just this…feeling I get. Like there's somethin' we're missin'. Somethin' important."

Wash raised his eyebrows. "You mean, besides Inara?"

"Besides Inara," Zoe agreed with a smile. She might not have had a lot in common with the Companion, but Inara was a friend to everyone on the ship, and therefore missed by everyone, too.

"I don't know," she continued. "I think that something we did or didn't do, is gonna turn things to our disadvantage. Can't put my finger on it though…" She racked her brain but couldn't come up with anything.

As they broke atmo, Wash gripped the handles of the steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles turned white. He gritted his teeth and did his best to keep the rickety boat steady as she trembled all around them.

As always, he breathed a sigh of contentment when they'd passed through the atmosphere and started their final descent. "There, out of harm's way. Well, until we touch the ground that is, then I'm sure we'll be in trouble with the law within minutes." He turned around again and grinned at his wife.

Zoe flashed him a quick smile, still unable to locate the unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach. "Aww, cheer up, my beautiful bride! It's probably nothing," he said brightly.

"You're right. It's probably nothing." Zoe nodded. _Thing is, it don't feel like nothing_, she thought…

-----------------------------------

Simon quietly organized the remaining supplies in the infirmary. They weren't quite running low on medication yet, but he would feel better if they were able to do some restocking now that they were planetside -- just in case something went wrong. Which it usually did.

Still, that wasn't the most important matter going through his mind right now. He wasn't replaying the talk he'd had with River over and over again.

_Maybe we shouldn't stay._

It was just a thought that had hit him in the moment, but the more he thought about it, the more it began to make sense. It would give him the chance to keep Jayne away from River. More importantly, it would keep them out of his their father's hands. It didn't matter how noble Gabriel Tam's intentions always appeared to be; Simon knew that his father always had his own interest and his own image at heart before everything else. He'd learned that the hard way.

He also knew that his father was a very smart man, and that he probably knew that Simon and River were on board Serenity, no matter how evasive Mal thought he could be.

Simon sighed. Mal had seemed determined to come up with a plan to avoid Simon and River's father. But Mal didn't know his father like Simon did. He didn't know what kind of resources the Tams had at their disposal -- and how determined they could be. Just like Simon was determined now to get as far away from his father as he could.

He'd spent too long being pushed around by Gabriel Tam, doing what his father wanted without even realizing it. River probably wouldn't agree, but she hadn't seen the side of her father that Simon had gotten to know. His father had made it more than clear that he wouldn't come for them again; and he was a stubborn man, so this sudden change of heart was more than a little suspicious.

Suddenly, Simon's mind was made up. He left the infirmary as it was and made his way to his room, hastily throwing his few belongings into the suitcase he'd brought with him when he got on board. That seemed so long ago now…

After he was done, he knocked on the door to River's room, opening it when he got no answer. She wasn't around, and for once Simon didn't really mind. It would give him some time to pack her things before he'd have to talk to her; before he'd have to tell her they were leaving…

It wasn't like they had much of a choice. If anything, it was clear that he had outstayed his welcome with Mal, he thought bitterly. No one would be particularly sorry to find them gone. Except maybe Kaylee…

Simon felt a pang of regret for not giving Kaylee the attention she so craved and deserved. But she would understand, he knew she would. Plus, he knew his father well enough to know that he stopped at nothing to get what he wanted. This way he would not only keep River safe, he'd also keep the crew of Serenity safe from his father's Alliance contacts.

_So really_, he thought, convincing himself one last time, _there's only one thing I can do that will benefit everyone. And that's leaving the ship…_

-----------------------------------

"Going away."

"What, _now_?" Jayne asked. They were sitting in Jayne's bunk while he picked out the weapons he was going to take with him on the job. River was sitting quietly on his bed, studying the pictures Jayne had on his wall with great interest.

"That's the wrong place for an earring," she observed with a frown. Then she turned around so she faced Jayne. "Don't know. Don't know when. Don't know where. But going soon."

"You don't seem nearly as panicked about that as you were before. That mean what you saw ain't gonna happen?" he asked as he carefully placed some guns on the bed, along with an apple for the road, and sat down in between River and the guns. _Better safe 'n sorry_, he thought.

She shook her head miserably and stared at the bed cover, tracing patterns on it with her finger. "She knows now. Knows that she can't stop it. It has to pass, instruct life lessons. Because it's what the stories mean … Nothing she can do about that…" she said quietly, tears brimming her eyes.

Jayne frowned and put his big hand on her small one to stop her drawing patterns. "Stop that. Keep talking 'bout yerself as 'she' like that, gets me pissed off." He smirked when she looked at him indignantly. "Sorry princess, if you're lookin' for someone to treat ya like a spoiled kid, you're talkin' to the wrong person. Got yer brother for that," he said gruffly.

This, for some reason, earned him a huge grin and a tight hug from River. He just stared at her when she pulled back and gave him an urgent look. "You _have_ to come get me." She said it calmly and without so much as blinking, as if she was a hundred percent certain that he would. Anyone who would have seen it, would probably have burst out laughing.

Jayne on the other hand just frowned. "Me, I don't see why you can't just tell that dumbass brother o' yours that it ain't safe! That could stop ya from goin' in the first place," he said, wondering why the hell he was sayin' that when he'd done everything in his power to get the doc and his sister off the boat…

She gave him a smile and rolled her eyes in her patented 'that's a really stupid thing to say' expression. "He won't believe me. Doesn't believe anyone anymore. Doesn't trust anyone." She fixed her eyes on Jayne's. "Especially _you_," she chirped.

Suddenly her attention seemed to be drawn past his face and to the apple that was lying on the bed. Without notice, she leaned far over Jayne to grab it.

Jayne muttered a faint protest, but at the same time he felt his blood starting to pool low down at the sensation of her warm, fragile body so close to his. He desperately tried to keep his thoughts together, but there was nothing to distract him. All he could see was her slender neck floating in front of his nose.

_Gorramit, girl, you're gonna be the death of me_, he thought.

River turned her head and grinned, her face dangerously close to Jayne's. "Jayne is a girl's name, but Jayne's a big man. Strong. Doesn't get killed that easily."

Jayne snorted. "Well, I might if Mal finds us like this. He sees you in my bunk, he'll have me tossed out the airlock 'fore you can spit," he said. His voice sounded hoarse so he swallowed loudly. He wasn't really used to _not_ giving in to his hormones, and it was a lot harder than he'd thought.

River just chuckled and crawled back on the bed till she was leaning against the wall of the bunk, her feet resting in Jayne's lap. She started munching on the apple she still had clenched in her small hand while she looked at him intently. "He won't. Got bigger problems his own self, you know. Trying to balance future and past and not getting crushed by the present…"

Jayne blinked. It was always a mite disturbing if River said something cryptic and it sorta made sense to him. On top of that, her feet were casually wriggling in his lap now, which was distracting him something fierce.

In a lame attempt to regain his composure he just said the first thing that came to him. "Hey! That was my last apple!"

River took another demonstrably big bite and held out the apple so he could take a bite too.

"Want?" she mumbled with her mouth full. Jayne barked a laugh but shook his head. River frowned. "You have to eat. Keep your strength. Have to come get me, remember?"

She fell silent as she stared at the piece of fruit. "She's hasn't had these since Ariel," she said thoughtfully.

Jayne swallowed again and shifted uncomfortably. "Yeah, 'bout that; you gotta --"

"Not upset," she interrupted him calmly. "Not angry. She understands. It's not right to be greedy, to want everything for yourself, but sometimes you can't help yourself." She paused for a moment, then added, "I always used to steal Simon's toys, too," with a reassuring smile.

Jayne couldn't help but feel relieved, even though he failed to see how that was similar.

"'Sides," River said brightly, "you won't do it again."

Jayne said an eyebrow and smirked. "You're so sure o' that, huh?"

She nodded vigorously. "Yup. Stronger now. Clearer in the brainpan. Now, you hurt me, I hurt you back."

There was something in the way her face didn't twitch a muscle when she said it, that Jayne found more than a mite unsettling. But before he could come up with a reply, River dropped the apple, leaned forward, took his face in both her hands and planted a long, soft kiss on Jayne's lips…

_Go se_, just when his blood had almost reached his brain again…

He put his hand on the back of her head, tangling his fingers in her hair and drawing her closer, but it wasn't long before she pulled back with remarkable ease.

"Kiss on the lips, no less, no more. Now you'll have to come get me!" She giggled loudly and jumped off the bed and onto the ladder, disappearing from view the next second.

Jayne barely had time to realize she was gone before Mal's face appeared at the top of the ladder, looking into the corridor to where he imagined River was skipping away, before peering down into the bunk with an awfully suspicious look on his face.

"Jayne, we're off to do the job. You ready?" he said in his are-we-gonna-have-a-problem voice.

"Um, yeah Mal. Just… gimme a minute, will ya?"

-----------------------------------

"Are you sure this is a good idea, sir?"

"Oh, I'm fairly certain it ain't," Mal sighed as the three of them made their way down the dusty path. "This more 'n likely will cause us a lot more trouble than it's worth, but we can't hardly turn back now. 'Sides, Badger's deal got us a discount to get us an extra month's worth of food and fuel. That ain't nothing."

Zoe nodded, because she followed her captain no matter what, but she didn't care what he said. Something still felt wrong.

She scanned her surroundings carefully for a possible ambush. She shouldn't even bother, she thought. Paquin was all grassy slopes and prairie, with nowhere to hide or find shadow. It must be hell in summer, she thought to herself. Luckily fall had come to the planet during this time of year, so the temperature wasn't unbearable and all that bothered them was a fierce wind that blew clouds of dust in their faces.

Fact of the matter was, there was nothing in sight as far as they could see, except for the carriage that was parked a little further down the path. As they arrived there, the driver just gave them a bored look and jerked his thumb over his shoulder. "In the back."

Mal frowned at him but walked around the carriage without hesitating, opening the passenger door and peering inside. "Hi there. You coming with us?"

"At least she don't look like Badger," Jayne observed grumpily.

Zoe ignored him and reached onto the back seat of the carriage, holding out her hand. "Hi there, sweetie. I'm Zoe."

The little girl in the carriage flashed her a happy smile and put her small hand in Zoe. "I'm Cara."

-----------------------------------

"River?" Simon asked when he heard the door to his room slide open. He shouldn't have bothered asking, he knew it was her by the way she didn't make a single sound as she walked into the room. He turned around and gave her a comforting but nervous smile. "River…"

"I know. We have to go." Her voice was completely neutral and her body language calm as she picked up her small duffel bag.

Simon didn't know if he should be relieved or really worried. The way she was this… composed, when she'd been so hysterical about leaving just a few hours earlier made him even more nervous, but he decided to make good use of the opportunity. It would be a lot easier to leave the ship if he didn't have to drag a kicking and screaming River with him -- or worse, drug her so she'd be complacent. He hated doing that…

He picked up the large duffel bag with his clothes and all River's medication with one arm, and put the other one around River's shoulders as they quietly started walking. Past the infirmary, through the cargo bay, off the ramp, across the pastures that surrounded the ship…

"No looking back," River whispered, but it seemed to be more to herself than to him. Simon listened anyway. He didn't stop to turn around until Serenity was out of sight…

TBC


	6. Part 6

**Part six: where the crew has trust issues regarding Jayne, Simon and River get into a peck of trouble, and Mal has to get help from the last person he wants to see…**

It had been a very long day, so Wash was sure his eyes were deceiving him when Zoe, Mal and Jayne walked back into the cargo bay. He screwed his eyes shut and opened them again, but there still appeared to be a little girl on his wife's arm.

"Um… why is there a kid on board all of a sudden?" he asked tentatively.

"Badger's daughter. He gave us a really good price back on Persephone if we'd agree to drop her off at Eavesdown next week," Mal said while he pressed the button that closed the cargo bay door and sealed off the air lock.

"Okaaay… but don't we have a policy on this?" Wash hurried to fall in line with Mal while the captain headed for the stairs, and ignored the death glare Zoe was shooting in his direction.

Mal stopped walking and turned to Wash. "It was a _very_ good price. 'Sides, it was either this or no food this month."

"And I'm not saying that food isn't a good thing…" Wash sighed. He was looking for the best way to tell Mal that this was a really bad idea without Zoe overhearing him. That woman had ears like a hare and he didn't much feel like sleeping on the floor for the rest of the week.

"Take us out of the world, Wash," Mal said before Wash had the chance to speak his piece. Leaning in, Mal added in a soft voice, "The sooner we leave, the sooner this kid is off-ship again…"

"'Sides," Mal continued, patting his pilot on the back with a grin, "She's nothin' but a little girl. How much trouble can she possibly be?"

Jayne just snorted loudly as he passed them on the way to his bunk.

----------------------------------------

"Aw, would you look at that! Ain't she a real cutie?" Kaylee said, not really expecting an answer. She flashed Cara a huge grin as she finished braiding the little girl's hair and tied it with a ribbon.

Kaylee grabbed her handheld mirror, a parting gift from Inara, and held it up in front of Cara. "There, look how pretty you are!" She beamed down at the little girl who was sitting cross-legged on Kaylee's bed, her back leaning against Kaylee's shoulder. Cara beamed right back at her before she scrambled off the bed and began trotting around the room and looking curiously at everything that crossed her path.

There was a shudder as the ship took off. Kaylee quickly steadied the teacups on the low ceremonial table that used to be Inara's. Kaylee's bunk was stacked with things Inara couldn't take back with her, and she loved every little trinket. Not as much as she loved Serenity, but close.

She frowned when the shudders didn't subside as quickly as they usually did. "I better go check if the grav thrust is holdin' up. Feels like it's gonna be a bumpy ride if it ain't," she mumbled, mostly to herself.

"Oh! C'mere sweetie." Kaylee quickly grabbed a wrench out of Cara's hand. "I'monna take you to Simon for a bit, so you can't get in any trouble," she added cheerfully, making a funny face. "He'll look after you proper, he's real good at that." She reached out her hand to the girl and they strolled off to the infirmary, Cara's chubby little hand clinging to Kaylee's.

----------------------------------------

"That expensive?" Simon asked, trying to hide the bewildered look on his face. He put down his drink and stared directly at the man sitting at the other end of the table. They were sitting in a booth in a grubby bar in town. It was probably the last place anyone would recognize him or River, but that didn't mean Simon was any more comfortable.

"Garcia said you was a wealthy boy," the other man smirked. "Said you paid him good coin to get your sister outta that Alliance facility." He glanced at River, who was perched next to Simon with her feet on the chair and hugging her knees. "O'course, there could be other manner o' payment," he added, leering at River.

Simon clenched his jaw. He knew he probably couldn't take this man, but he still had to try his hardest not to punch him. He glanced carefully at River, but she was just staring blankly ahead of her, looking up to give the man opposite her a thoughtful glance every once in a while. Simon got the distinct feeling she knew much more about him than he did.

"We'll pay," Simon said curtly. "Just get us off of this rock and on our way to Boros."

The man's face fell and he nodded. From what Garcia must have told him, he obviously hadn't expected Simon to be this firm. Simon couldn't say that he cared much. All he wanted at the moment was to get River and himself as safe and as far away from here as possible. As long as they were still near Serenity, they could still be tracked by their father. Not to mention that Jayne would be near River. And he would be near Mal…

The other man scribbled something on a small piece of paper and slid it quietly across the wooden surface of the table. Then he downed his drink in one big gulp and got to his feet briskly. "Come to that rendezvous spot in an hour. Me an' mine will be there, waitin'."

_An hour_, Simon wanted to ask. What if the crew came looking for them? What if they were recognized by someone? After a moment he just took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you." The man tapped his hat before he stepped out.

Simon exhaled in relief. All in all, it probably wouldn't be long now before they would be safe. Well, _safer_, anyway. He still couldn't shake the gnawing feeling of unrest in his gut though. Serenity had been more of a home to him than anything else ever had; and the crew had become almost as close to him as family… He sighed softly and comforted himself with the thought that they would all be a lot safer without two wanted fugitives on board.

He was pulled from his reverie by River, who squeezed his arm and gave him a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Simon. We'll be okay. Everything will turn out fine."

Simon shot his sister a surprised look. "Of course it will, mei mei," he said. "Why wouldn't it be?"

River just smiled and gave her brother a great big hug.

----------------------------------------

"Cap'n! Simon and River are gone!" Kaylee panted as she ran onto the bridge.

Mal turned around and told himself very firmly that his stomach hadn't just clenched in panic. "Did you check the infirmary?" he asked with a frown.

Kaylee was clutching her sides and trying to catch her breath, but she still managed to roll her eyes and give him an indignant look. "_Dahn rahn_, I'm not an idiot! I looked everywhere and I'm tellin' ya, they ain't anywhere on Serenity," she said, sounding agitated.

Wash turned around and raised an eyebrow in concern. "You want me to turn the ship around?"

Mal considered this for a moment. "Not till we're sure," he decided finally. "If we have to break atmo again, it'll eat up half our fuel. We oughta check the ship first. Zoe, come help me look, will you? We ain't got no time to spare here." He realized he was hoping that Kaylee had made a mistake, and that Simon and River would simply be below deck. Part of him knew that he shouldn't – Kaylee knew Serenity better than anyone, 'ceptin' maybe himself. If she said they weren't on board, they more than likely weren't…

"Don't bother." Jayne's voice sounded in the front hall as he climbed up the ladder that led to his bunk. He walked onto the bridge, with a piece of paper in his hand and a grim expression on his face. "They're gone."

----------------------------------------

The ground was covered with pebbles. River looked down and smiled at them. When she and Simon had begun walking down the trail that would lead them to the rendezvous point, she'd begun counting them, but she'd gotten bored after she'd reached 1,584,236. They were all the same, anyway. Irrelevant in the grand scheme of things, or so it would appear.

"River, stay close," she heard Simon say. He was walking a short way behind her on the winding path that led them away from the small settlement and into a nearby grove. There was a storm setting in, she could tell. _Paquin is known for abrupt climate changes, including pressure drops and heavy precipitation_, she told herself sternly, repeating what a private tutor had told Other River when she was a little girl. She still had the knowledge – but it didn't matter. They'd be gone by the time the rain started.

She could feel Simon's sadness as clearly as if it were her own. Every beat of his heart sent a pulsating wave of the emotion; radiating from him and bouncing abruptly against her back. He didn't want to leave. _Didn't want to leave behind…_

River did a few pirouettes, smiling at Simon every time he spun in and out of her peripheral vision. He smiled back at her, and she felt the warmth of his smile wash over her. He was always happy when she was happy. Now that she thought about it, she wasn't sure if he'd ever been happy all on his own…

She sighed deeply and slowed down to fall in line with Simon's pace. He never cared about what _he_ wanted. Never thought that he deserved to be happy.

He really could be very stupid sometimes.

"Doctor," a voice suddenly said.

"Jorge," Simon responded as the gruff-looking man from the bar emerged from the bushes. Simon was on his guard; she could see all the muscles in his body tense up. She was sure Jorge could hear it in his voice too. It was slightly unsteady when Simon said, "So… where's the ship?"

"Just through there," Jorge said, pointing at a small ship that lay half-hidden beneath a collection of leaves and branches.

All at once seven men appeared out of the bushes that sprung up left and right of the trail. River had known they were there, of course. What she hadn't foreseen was one of them lifting a weapon, aiming it at Simon's neck and firing a single shot.

It took her a while to realize that the piercing scream that followed was her own. As if in slow-motion, she saw Simon's body drop limply to the ground, his face landing on the pebbles with a horrible scraping noise.

There wasn't even time for her eyes to start welling up. Behind her, a second shot sounded. River felt a sharp sting between her shoulder blades before everything went black.

----------------------------------------

"What d'you mean 'they're gone'?" Kaylee asked, her voice shrill with nerves. "You mean we _left_ them back there?"

Jayne shrugged. "What I said. An' my guess is they done gotten themselves snatched by the Feds right about now." He hoped to hell he was wrong. And not even 'cause it'd cost him his chances of getting that reward this time…

Kaylee's eyes widened in disbelief. "Maybe – maybe they just went for a walk? Or got snatched by hillfolk again? Right?" she said, looking at Mal and Zoe for support.

Jayne frowned. Hell, she weren't makin' this any easier on him. "No, I'm fairly certain they got pinched by the man," he said calmly, waving the piece of paper in front of their eyes.

Kaylee let out an audible gasp and yanked the scrap of paper out of his hands. "Jayne, what did you do?" she exclaimed before she began to read it, her eyes flying over the page.

"What? Hell, I didn't do nothin'!" Jayne protested loudly. He turned to Mal and Zoe for support, but they just stared at him blankly, their arms crossed. Jayne sighed. _How am I ever gonna get 'em to believe me on this here matter? 'Specially Mal. 'Specially after what happened on Ariel…_

He took a deep breath. "River knew they was gonna get snatched. She had that fit or whatever the hell it was, felt it happenin'. She made me promise not to tell you 'cause it was supposed to happen or some such." He nodded towards the note, which was now in Zoe's hands. "Left that there note 'fore she and the doctor left."

Kaylee snorted at that comment. "That ain't even so! You coulda written that your own self!"

Jayne blinked. Seeing Simon and River go after Inara's departure _really_ wasn't sitting too well with her. Oh well, if she needed someone to blame, better it be him than someone else; his skin was thick enough, he thought grimly.

"Don't think so, Kaylee," Zoe told her, holding up the scrap of paper. "The note uses the words 'distraught', 'invigorating' and 'captivated'. And there are no spelling mistakes."

Kaylee fell silent for a beat, before mumbling, "Oh. Sorry, Jayne…" Jayne muttered a faint protest. What was that supposed to mean?

"Okay," Mal finally said. Jayne could tell he was losing his patience. "Here's where I'm fuzzy. Why'd she tell you about it if she didn't want to stop it from happenin' in the first place?"

Jayne just stared at Mal for a second. "'Cause we have to go after them an' get 'em rescued," he said. Really, how dumb could Mal get?

Mal pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes screwed up in a tormented expression that was damn near comical, Jayne thought. "Right. Jayne, you're giving me a _xiang muqinban zhaogu tuotong _here. You tryin' to tell me that she didn't want us to know they were going, but she _does_ want us to come and get her saved? You want me to believe that?"

"Hell, Mal," Jayne said loudly, "you're asking me to tell you how that kid's mind works? The girl's a ruttin' moonbrain!" He took a breath. "Either way, we gotta come up with a plan, don't we? If we wanna get 'em back?" he said briskly. Mal, Kaylee and Zoe stared at him for a spell and then nodded quietly. "What?" he asked defensively.

----------------------------------------

Simon woke up feeling like his head was going to explode. Or implode, whichever was more painful. He slowly opened his eyes, but he still couldn't see a thing. Where was he?

With a jolt, he sat upright, ignoring the shooting pain that coursed through his body and the fact that his hands appeared to be bound. Where was –

"Simon," River whispered, somewhere close by. There she was, he thought as relief washed over him.

"River," he whispered back. "Where are we?" He felt himself getting dizzy from having been knocked out and took a deep breath. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?"

"Still here," River whispered back. Simon had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but she _sounded_ alright and that was something. He heard her scuffle over until he felt her next to him, putting her head on his shoulder. "Small transport vessel for Aerial and Space Transport Operations; standard sixty-footer; Wren Class," she hummed.

"Right… River, we have to get out of here. Turn around, I'll try to reach your binds," Simon whispered. Now that he knew _where_ they were, he didn't feel like staying there very much longer.

"You just stay where you are, all nice an' proper," Jorge's voice came as the door opened and light flooded in. Simon blinked against the harsh glare, letting his eyes adjust until he could get an idea of the room they were in. What he saw wasn't promising. They appeared to be in a small cargo hold, with no exits apart from the door Jorge was blocking with his muscular frame.

"Where are you taking us?" Simon spat. More than anything else, he was furious at himself for landing River and himself in this much trouble. He couldn't believe he'd been so stupid as to trust this man. But Jorge _had_ been one of the middle men Garcia had told him about when he had mentioned some shelters where he and River could hide after he'd gotten her out of the Academy. _He was supposed to be trustworthy…_

"We go where the Feds tell us, Doctor Tam," Jorge said coldly. "That reward on you an' your sister was gettin' a mite interesting." He smiled a cruel little smile and shook his head. "You should be more careful about who you trust, doc… Then again, Garcia was just the same, trustin' folk out of his belief in the goodness of mankind. Which is more 'n' likely why he's pushing up daisies now."

The ship began to shudder as they broke atmo, and moments later there was the soft rumble of a ship flying next to them. Jorge lifted his head and listened. "That'll be the reinforcements. Time for me to go collect my payment," he said with a crooked grin.

With a loud thud, he slammed the door shut behind them, and left Simon and River shrouded in darkness again.

----------------------------------------

"So, what's the plan? Do we _have_ a plan?" Wash asked, looking around at the others who were sat around the dinner table.

"Of course we do! We're gonna go rescue Simon and River! Right?" Kaylee said, not trying to hide her anxiety. Mal sighed. He hoped by all that was right in the 'Verse that it was gonna be that simple. Kaylee and Jayne seemed to think so, anyway.

"Damn straight," Jayne stated as he slid the note across the table to Wash. "River left us these. Clues about that Alliance place they stashed her in before; mostly stuff she remembers is my guess. Don't think we oughta rely on that much though. They fiddled around with that brain o' hers, I wouldn't bet my money on trustin' her memory."

Zoe nodded. "Even so, it's of little use to us if we ain't got a layout of the place to begin with. We need someone who's actually been there. We need Simon."

Mal closed his eyes for a second to gather his thoughts. Much as it pained him, Zoe wasn't wrong about that last bit. _Ai ya tien ah_, why did that boy always have to land himself in trouble like that? _A gorram handful, those two_, he thought. Didn't matter much, he was still gonna go help them. He just preferred not to think about the how and why.

"The Alliance will have separated the two of them," Book said thoughtfully. "They won't want to risk Simon freeing her again. My guess is they're as far apart from each other by now as the Feds could possibly get them."

Mal nodded. "So we get Simon before we can get River. That implies we gotta find out where he is," he said grimly.

"That might not be as difficult as it sounds," Book offered. "All we need is someone who can make contact with a high-placed Alliance officer. We know the perfect person for that." He gave Mal a meaningful look.

Mal felt his stomach drop. Yeah, that would be just what he needed right now, he thought grimly. Nor was it a complication he much liked to see pop up at the moment. "No, that ain't an option," he said firmly.

Jayne frowned. "Why the hell not? Sounds like a right good idea to me."

"Because… I'm the captain and I say so," Mal retorted. _Yeah, way to go_, he thought, immediately fighting the urge to hit himself. _That'll show 'em._

Kaylee pushed her chair back and stood up, anger written all over her face. "That's _mo min chi meow_! Simon and River could be hurt! Sir." She put emphasis on the last word, staring at him defiantly.

Mal stared at his young mechanic. Right, the girl had a point there. He'd have to put his pride aside… What else was new. "Fine," he said with a resigned swat of his hand. "I'll send her a wave."

----------------------------------------

"Miss? There's someone on the Cortex who wants to talk to you," the young girl said, standing timidly in the entrance to the temple.

Inara looked up and smiled. "Thank you. I'll be right there," she said, getting up and straightening her long silk skirt while she walked to her quarters. She sat down in front of the cortex screen, and felt her heart skip a beat when she saw the face that looked back at her. He wouldn't notice, of course, she had been trained to show only the emotions she wanted to show. That didn't mean she didn't feel them.

"Mal, hi." She smiled kindly. "I hope nothing's the matter?" _Better to stay business-like and get to the point_, she thought. She wished she could stop staring at his mouth though…

"Wish I could say that, Inara. Truth of the matter is, we're in a spot o'trouble and we'd be real grateful if you could help out," he said. Inara stared at the blue-tinted image of Mal on her Cortex screen. He didn't _look_ grateful. He wasn't even _trying_ to put on his usual façade, she though with wonderment.

Not bothering to hide the concern in her voice, she asked, "Mal, what's wrong?"

"It appears the Alliance got hold of Simon and River," Mal said grimly. Inara clasped her hand over her mouth. _No… _"I'm not gonna beat around the bush here, 'Nara. We need to know where they are, and for that we need someone who can get close enough to the Alliance to get information without being suspicious. Someone… respectable."

At any other time, Inara would have been astonished at Mal calling her 'respectable'. At the moment, however, she was too distraught to give it much thought. There were more important things at stake; this was no time for their incessant squabbling. "Of course," she said quickly. "Leave it to me. I'll look through the client registry and get back to you as soon as I can."

Mal nodded, said his goodbyes and closed the connection. When the screen had gone blank again, Inara let out a deep sigh and leaned back in her armchair. There had been something in Mal's eyes. She hadn't wanted to call him on it, but they'd looked… _empty_. Simon and River had been in trouble before, but she'd never seen him look that resigned and guilt-ridden before. _He feels that this is his fault_, she thought with a jolt of realization.

Her mind drifted to the Tams and the despair they must've been feeling. _After all the trouble Simon has gone through to keep himself and River out of the Alliance's hands_, she thought sadly. She couldn't bring herself to believe it had all been for nothing.

And it wouldn't be, she thought with resolve. Mal was determined to free them, and she would do anything within her power to help him do just that.

Sitting upright in her chair once more, she pressed the button that opened the Guild's client registry and began her search.

----------------------------------------

Simon saw lights flashing before his eyes as his face hit the cold stone floor. He rolled over so he was on his back and sat upright. "Where's River!" he yelled as the door slammed shut and he was alone in the bluish-gray twilight that came from a small window near the ceiling.

It was no use. Simon knew that. He'd watched them knock River out with one of the tranquilizer darts they'd used on them before. He'd shouted as they dragged her out of the cargo hold; and he'd yelled and cursed even louder as he heard the ship that had joined them in mid-air take off again. They had taken her away.

_Sons of bitches_, Simon thought furiously as he looked around his cell. It was like no Alliance containment facility he'd ever heard about. On the contrary, it looked very primitive. Its walls, like the floor, consisted of rough stones and there was no glass in the small window, just bars. A cold wind blew in and brought some snowflakes with it. Simon shivered when he felt the icy wind cut through his thin silk shirt like daggers, making his body ache.

Defeated, he slumped against the wall, sucking on his lower lip, which was bleeding after being smacked to the ground one too many times. He had no idea where he was or how long he would have to stay. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be brought to trial. He couldn't care less though. Everything he had worked so hard to protect, everyone he loved… it was all gone. And the worst part was that it was all his fault. It had been his decision to leave and to rely on himself, and he'd walked right into the first trap that they had set.

He deserved to be in here, Simon thought bitterly. River didn't, but _he_ sure as hell did… He closed his eyes and leaned his head against the wall. He would just have to face it.

Nobody was coming for him.

TBC


	7. Part 7

_A/N: There were supposed to be some references to mining in this next chapter, but after what happened in West-Virginia, I decided to edit this chapter because I didn't think it would be appropriate. My heart goes out to the victims and their families. The result is that the chapter differs slightly from the original draft, but I hope it didn't diminish in quality. Also, great big hugs for Guin and Tehomet, my two lovely betas who have stuck with me this far :)!_

**Part seven: where the Companion does what she does best, escape and rescue ops are set in motion, and hiding in a cave during a snow storm is a great plan**

Inara carefully lit the incense and candles that stood on the small altar. She blew out the tip of the incense stick, letting the scented smoke curl up to the ceiling and begin to fill the room, before she started to prepare the tea. Inara sighed as her thoughts drifted to the client she was about to entertain. She'd had the good fortune that an Alliance general had contacted her several weeks ago. Inara had put aside the proposal at the time. He wasn't someone she would normally select as a client. However, she had gladly dug it back up after Mal had sent her that wave.

She couldn't suppress a slight shudder when she thought of Simon and River in the hands of the Alliance… And then there was Mal. His face kept drifting to the forefront of her thoughts. Inara frowned when she recollected the expression on his face. If it hadn't been for her Companion training, she never would have noticed it; but as it was, it was as clear as day to her that Mal felt responsible for River and Simon's capture.

As she sat down and folded her hands in her lap, Inara smiled sadly. That was Mal for you, she thought. Always fighting battles he couldn't win. Rallying for causes that weren't his own. Taking matters to heart that he had no control over. It made him both frustrating and endearing to her. Even though he pretended to be a hard-headed criminal, he always wanted to do what was right. It was why he would never fit in with anyone. It was also why she loved him.

A knock on the door woke Inara from her reverie. She quickly rose from her chair, straightened her silk dress and stood in the centre of the room, radiating beauty. "_Chin yin_," she said in a kind voice. The door opened, and a tall man in a military uniform walked in.

_Definitely not someone I would have selected if it was up to me_, she thought; but if it helped to find Simon and River, she was more than willing to do her part.

"General Marcellin, good afternoon," she greeted him, showing him the kindest of smiles and softly putting her hand on his lower arm. "I'm very happy you could make it. Would you care to sit?"

--------------------

"Cap'n, that's awful distractin'," Kaylee's muffled voice came from underneath the control panel. Mal stopped pacing up and down the bridge for a second. From the corner of his eye, he saw Zoe shoot her husband a relieved look.

"Hey, I'm no good at waitin'!" Mal said defensively. "We can't hardly set course for Persephone; it might take us further away from where they're keeping Simon, and we sure as hell can't afford to lose any time." He sounded frustrated and he knew it, but he couldn't help it.

Zoe nodded slowly. "We know that, sir. None of us like driftin' through the black without having any idea of where we're going. But, no offence sir, you're making everyone a mite twitchy."

Mal sighed, muttered, "Fine..." under his breath and stomped off. He knew Zoe was right, but it still pissed him off that he was practically being chased off his own bridge. He didn't stop until he found himself downstairs, in the lounge area right next to the infirmary. He sat down in one of the worn but comfortable chairs and sighed.

Things kept spinning 'round in his head, and he didn't take a liking to things spinnin' round in his head. He didn't like it when things got complicated. _Well, that's a flat out lie_, he thought with a grim smile. He loved it when things got complicated, but only when it was on his own terms. And not in his head, that was for damn sure. His head had to stay clear; not fogged up like right now, with him not bein' able to think proper.

He glanced at the infirmary, which was in tip-top shape, just like Simon had left it. Hell, it wasn't like he blamed Simon for leaving. Or Inara, for that matter. He didn't have call to stop any of his crew from leaving the ship and making a life of their own, just 'cause he didn't want one his own self.

No, it was the way Simon had left. Without so much as sayin' a word... Of course, Mal knew he'd had good reasons. The boy was a lot o' things, but stupid and rash weren't among them. He'd probably been thinking of leaving for some time, planning even, if he knew the Doc at all. That was what stung Mal the most. That Simon must've had that thought for a good long while, and yet he'd never let it on, not ever.

"Cap'n! Inara's on the Cortex!" Kaylee yelled down the stairs, shaking Mal brusquely from his thoughts. He immediately jumped up and hurried his way back to the bridge, where everyone else was already sitting in front of the screen. Inara was looking back at them. Apart from her curls being slightly dishevelled, she was as much a picture of grace and composure as ever.

"The general told me some very interesting things," she started. She obviously didn't want to waste any time exchanging pleasantries, which was something Mal was thankful for. "Apparently, Simon will be put to trial for foiling government projects and for evading the law. The odd thing is that no date has been set for his hearing yet, even though they're usually held within a week of the arrest. The general said he'd never heard of anything like that before." She took a deep breath, and then added, "In the mean time, he's being held at an Alliance work colony on Saint Albans."

The crew stared at Inara's image in silence. "Let me guess," Mal said grimly, his eyes fixed on Inara's. "The Alliance is a mite pissed off and wants to make an example of the Doc?"

Inara looked back at them gravely. "Not just that... Mal, every high judicial magistrate on the Core lives on Osiris – and so does Simon's father. With him being a Representative of the Parliament..."

"He decided to pull some strings," Mal finished Inara's sentence for her. "To be extra hard on his own son to show that he had nothing to do with Simon and River bein' on the dodge."

Inara nodded. "Mal, this is serious. From what general Marcellin has told me, these work colonies... They're not like anything you've seen. The conditions are minimal and the jailers are among the worst types gathered in the 'Verse – they're almost worse than the inmates. People die there..." Her voice had taken on a pleading tone.

"Leave it to us, Inara," Mal spoke softly. In front of him, Wash leaned forward to push some buttons and said, "Heading for Saint Albans now, Mal." Mal gave him a quick smile, thankful for a crew that wasn't slow on the uptake.

"What about River?" Jayne said gruffly.

Inara simply shook her head sadly. "I haven't been able to find out anything yet. The general didn't seem to have any intel on where they might have taken River; but I'll continue looking," she assured him. Jayne nodded and gave an appreciative grunt as he leaned back in his chair.

Mal was looking at the screen intently. "We're grateful for all the help you can give us, Inara. Just don't go gettin' yourself in any trouble over our sakes, all right?" Inara nodded; then she said her goodbyes and the screen went blank again.

Mal turned around and frowned when he saw the look on Zoe's face. It was a look he'd seen before, and it never boded well.

"Sir..." she said slowly.

"What is it?"

"Saint Albans is four days out. Meaning that, provided we're able to spring Simon straightaway, we'll be more than eight days late getting Cara back to Badger on Persephone. The man's tetchy about hirin' us on a good day, sir..." she said, letting her conclusions fill the air between them instead of wording them.

"So what do you suggest, Zoe? That we leave them both for the Alliance to play with?" Mal asked. Badger was gonna have their hides for this, he was well aware of that; but it wasn't like they had a choice.

"I'm not saying that, sir. I want to help Simon and River just as much as the rest of us. Just want to make sure you know what we're getting ourselves into here."

Mal nodded appreciatively at his first mate. "I know," he said grimly, as he turned around and walked back to his bunk. "But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it..."

------------------------------

_This is it_, Simon found himself thinking as he was roughly shoved back into his cell and fell to the floor. This was where he was going to die. Behind him he heard one of the guards bark with laughter, before the door slammed shut and he was alone again in the silence.

He knew that he had only been here for four days, but it felt like so much longer. Four days of carrying metal plating from one Alliance Cruiser to the other in the shipyard; four days of eighteen-hour labour for a single meagre daily meal; four days of being beaten by the inmates and the guards alike until he couldn't even think anymore... Four days, but it felt like an eternity.

The metallic sting of blood on his tongue told him that someone's fist had cracked his lip again. He slowly picked himself up from the floor, wiping his hand roughly across his bottom lip, and leaned against the wall to keep from falling over. He was exhausted, bruised, cold and sick; but none of that came even close to the gnawing uncertainty about what had happened to River. More than anything else, Simon couldn't stand feeling this helpless. There was no way he could be of any use to River while he was in here.

Simon honestly had no idea how long he would be able to keep this up. On top of it all, he was stuck in an unheated prison cell on the coldest planet on the Rim, wearing nothing but the pants and the silk shirt he had on when he arrived. He was pretty sure he was getting pneumonia, and he did _not_ want to die of pneumonia. He was a doctor, he knew what that did to a person...

The door was pushed open roughly and one of the guards entered, carrying a small metal tray with an indefinable kind of food on it. With some effort, Simon pushed himself away from the support of the wall and walked up to the guard.

"Where's my sister? Where's River?" he spat. He wasn't even hoping for a response anymore, but he had to ask. It was all he could think about, and the thought of his sister needing his help was what kept him going. "I demand to talk to an advocate–"

The guard gave him a disgusted glance-over, before letting the tray clatter to the floor with a smirk. Grabbing Simon by his shirt, the guard pounded his fist into Simon's stomach, making him double over in pain. "Your days of demandin' are long gone, boy," he hissed in Simon's ear, before letting go of his shirt.

Simon fell to the floor next to the tray, gasping for breath. "Enjoy your dinner," he heard the other man say somewhere above him. Then a kick in the ribs with the sharp tip of the guard's shoe sucked the rest of the air out of Simon's lungs, and everything went black...

------------------------------

When Simon regained consciousness, he had no idea how long he had been out, but the small window showed that it was dark outside, and his food –or something that passed for food– had turned cold.

He tried to pick himself up from the floor, but fell back down almost immediately. Every bone in his body hurt. With one arm he shoved the tray, as well as the bits of food that hadn't been eaten by rats and mice yet, away from him. The mere thought of eating was making him sick to his stomach, even though his medical training told him that he had to eat if he wanted to survive. But he wasn't so sure he could be bothered anymore.

_There is a way out_. The idea hit him like a freight train, and he couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before. There was no reason for him to sit around and wait patiently until he died of exhaustion or illness. He slid his hand into the pocket of his pants, his fingers finding their way past the fabric and into a padded hidden pocket, and pulled out a small plastic vial that was filled with a brightly-coloured liquid.

He wasn't going to die in this cell like a diseased rat. Not when he could take matters into his own hands.

------------------------------

"Hey, Shepherd," Jayne greeted Book. With a grunt, he placed the weights back in their holders and got up from the bench. "You want me to spot ya?"

Book shook his head. "No, thank you. I just came down here for a spell so I could do some thinking. I find that it's easier to think down here," he said with a little smile. Jayne nodded to show he understood, even though he never particularly came down here to think. He had to admit though that'd spent most of the past four days lifting weights, doing bench-presses and generally doin' all kinds of exercises so he could stay busy...

The Shepherd seemed to have read his mind. "Anything you want to talk about, Jayne?" he asked.

Jayne frowned and scratched his head. "Well... actually I've been meanin' to ask you somethin', Shepherd. Hope you don't mind, but since you seem to know a lot about the Alliance and military and all that..."

"What did you want to ask me?" Book asked with a frown. Jayne knew people well enough to sense that the Shepherd had put up his guard and was slightly uncomfortable.

"Ah, nothing," Jayne said dismissively. "I was just thinking 'bout River is all. You know, 'cause us here don't know a gorram thing about how the Alliance works. But you, I figure, you know all kinds o' stuff about them. So I figured you might know why she's so important to the brass and what they might want with her." He shrugged. "Y'know, 'cause I was worried. She's a handful, but she's just a kid and she don't deserve all this crap," he finished.

Book smiled and put his hand on Jayne's shoulder. "I'm sure we'll be able to rescue River," he comforted Jayne. "I honestly don't know why she appears to be so important to the Alliance, but if she is, that also means that they probably won't harm her."

"Any more than they already did, you mean?" Jayne said grimly. Shepherd Book let out a breath and looked back at Jayne gravely. That was good, Jayne thought. He couldn't always size up the Shepherd, but it was clear as day from his eyes that he was concerned too.

Book coughed. "Jayne, pardon the intrusion but... she doesn't seem like the kind of person that you would normally invest your time in. You're very different, and I have to admit that I'm curious about what your connection is to her?"

"You an' me both, Shepherd..." Jayne said with a sigh. "You an' me both." He had no idea what had come over him lately, but ever since River had confided in him, he caught himself thinking of her more and more. Hell, maybe it was just 'cause she gave him the time of day, which the others hardly ever did. Fact of the matter was, he couldn't get her out of his head. Jayne swallowed. Her face, all tear-streaked, and those small hands clawing into his shirt…

"Jayne?" Jayne's head snapped 'round at the sound of the Captain's voice. It was immediately followed by Mal's head as it popped around the door that led to the cargo bay. "You ready to go?" Jayne didn't reply; he was always ready for the jobs at hand, even if the ones that included rescuing the Doc – again – didn't rank high on his list of fun things to do.

As he got up, he noticed that Shepherd Book was following his lead. "Captain, I'd like to come with you," Book said earnestly. "I believe I might be of use."

Mal nodded. "I believe you might be, too, Shepherd, but the truth is you're probably more needed on the ship. I got a feeling Wash an' Kaylee might be in need of some of your mollifyin' talks. They have to get us off-world in a hurry, can't have them all jittery." Mal gave Book a wry smile. The Shepherd nodded to show Mal that he'd comply without making a fuss, and then he turned around and walked back upstairs.

Jayne couldn't help but admire Mal's ability to make people do what he wanted without makin 'em feel any less for doing so. Fact of the matter was, Mal was a born captain and Jayne knew that, even if he wouldn't admit it if they put a gun to his head. Didn't mean he couldn't think it, though.

------------------------------

With a soft thud, Serenity landed in a small clearing in the middle of the snowy forests that covered a large part of Saint Albans.

"So," Mal said while the airlock opened with a hiss, and the ramp slowly lowered itself onto the crisp snow. "We're about fifteen minutes from the Alliance colony. Now, it ain't that heavily guarded 'cause this place is so deserted that no-one in their right minds would even _try_ to escape and risk freezing to death. Nevertheless, Jayne, I want you to guard the perimeter, but don't take anyone out if you don't have to – we don't want to cause a spectacle, there ain't no need alerting the Feds of our whereabouts," Mal said grimly. "Meanwhile, me an' Zoe will try to break the perimeter and get inside the building."

Mal looked at Wash, Kaylee and Book intently. "Now, we each got Commpacks with us in case anything goes wrong. Wash, if there's any word on the Cortex about a prison break, alert us and then try scrambling the signal, okay? I want this to be quick and with a clean getaway." He firmly ignored the fact that every single member of his crew looked doubtful about that last fact.

"No problem, Mal," Wash stated. He was standing next to his wife with his arms wrapped around her waist, and he was obviously more nervous about the mission at hand than Zoe was. "_Zhen tama yaoming. Zhuyi_," he said softly, giving Zoe a peck just below the ear before he reluctantly let her go and headed back up to the bridge.

Mal couldn't help but feel a sting of jealousy at the sight. It had to be nice bein' fussed over from time to time. Even Zoe, who wasn't exactly the cuddlin' type, seemed to enjoy it. No-one ever fussed over him like that – 'cept maybe Simon. _Not going there. _He brushed the thought away and focused on the matter at hand. "Right. Let's go spring the Doc," he said and waited for Jayne and Zoe to walk down the ramp before following them into the woods.

As the three of them neared the thick iron fence, Zoe signalled Jayne, and he quickly disappeared amidst the trees to secure the area. Slowly and stealthily, Zoe made her way up to the barbed wire that surrounded the fence. It never ceased to amaze Mal how Zoe was able to hurry through the snow in those big boots, and yet not make a single sound.

With a few quick and deft movements, Zoe cut her way through the barbed wire and then started on the fence. It was made of thick steel, but Kaylee had supplied them with the best cutters in the 'Verse, and within a matter of minutes, a flick of Zoe's hand indicated that it was safe for Mal to follow her.

Trying to be as quiet as mice, Mal followed Zoe along a large deserted courtyard until they reached the building. Blowing out a breath in relief that they'd made it this far, he stood next to Zoe as she leaned her back against the wall and rested for a moment. "That was the easy bit," she said in a soft voice, and they chuckled.

For a spell, Zoe was quiet. She was more often quiet than not, but Mal knew his first mate well enough to know that she was gathering the strength to say something else. "Sir..." she said finally. "Have you thought about what to do about Simon and River's father? If we can get Simon out and he hears about it, he's gonna know exactly where to look for him. And that's not exactly gonna make it easier on us if we want to get River back as well," Zoe said in a hushed voice as they started to make their way to the nearest door, both pressed to the wall to avoid being seen. "Not to mention the fact that we got a little kid on board, and that Badger is gonna be on our hides as soon as we get anywhere near Persephone. We're signing up for a lotta trouble --"

"Shh," Mal interrupted her as he heard a nearby back door open with a creak. The both of them pressed themselves further against the wall just around the corner, their hands simultaneously going for their guns.

"What happened?" a voice said sharply as Mal heard the muted footsteps of heavy boots stepping onto the crisp snow. Cautiously, he glanced around the corner, and saw two men step out of the safety of the building and into the courtyard. One of them was clearly a guard, judging by his tough appearance, the laser gun hanging from his belt, and the menacing glint in his eyes. The other was dressed in much finer apparel, which, along with his haughty attitude, made Mal assume he was the warden.

"I don't know, sir," the guard said. For all his intimidating manners and features, he was obviously nervous around his superior. "We just walked into the cell and found that fancy young doctor expired. Killed 'imself, I figure."

Mal felt his heart give a jolt, and he glanced over his shoulder at Zoe. She got the hint rightaway and leaned in to look around the corner as well, her hand never leaving her gun holster.

The warden meanwhile was giving the guard an ice-cold stare. "How did he do it? Didn't you search him when he arrived?" he bit.

"I wasn't on duty then, sir!" the other man said vehemently, obviously intent on keeping his job. "'Sides, the man was a brilliant doctor, from what I heard. He probably took some kinda pill he had stashed away. There was no way we could've found something like that..."

"Yes, yes, very well," the warden said impatiently, giving the guard an annoyed wave of the hand. "There's nothing we can do about that now. He wasn't meant to be kept alive for long anyway. What did you do with the body?"

Zoe's eyes darted to Mal's. He couldn't quite make out the look in her eyes, but he figured she was thinking the same thing he was. A bit further down the courtyard, he heard the guard reply, "Dumped 'im in the woods sir. Figured the animals would get rid of him soon enough."

The warden nodded casually. "Alright, I'll inform his father as soon he sends us a wave." He was obviously bored with the conversation already, and Mal felt anger boil in the pit of his stomach. The moment the two men had stepped back inside and closed the door behind them, Mal nodded at the fence and he and Zoe quickly made a break for it.

They didn't stop running until they were safely past the barbed wire and in the safety of the trees. Clutching his sides, Mal leaned against a tree to try and catch his breath. "You think he's dead, sir?" Zoe asked, standing beside him and panting only slightly. She didn't seem convinced, which made Mal a bit more confident about his assumptions.

He shook his head. "No, I don't think he is. The Doc can be called a lotta things, but stupid and a coward aren't among them. My bet is, he took some of that medicine him and his sister used back on Ariel. Which means we can wake him up using that antidote he's got stashed in the infirmary."

Zoe nodded, relieved. "I was thinking the same thing. The problem is, how are we going to find him? These woods cover an area of miles and miles. It'd be like looking for a needle in a haystack."

Mal sighed. He wished people wouldn't always point out the difficult bits of every situation; he was more than aware enough of them as it was. "I know. But we ain't got time to lose, or he's gonna freeze to death." Pausing a moment to consider a course of action, he continued, "Let's get back to the ship. We'll all take some of the remedy; and we'll split up and comb the woods. I think that gives us our best chance to find him."

Zoe nodded, and immediately reached for her Commpack to alert Wash and Jayne of the situation.

------------------------------

Less than twenty minutes later, Mal was already back in the woods. He'd barely taken the time to explain matters to the others, telling Zoe to fill the crew in while he made a run for the infirmary. It hadn't taken him long to retrieve the vials that contained the antidote, he still pretty much remembered where Simon kept them. With five of the little vials in his hands, Mal had made his way back to his crew, handing one to each of them and telling them to start combing the woods. They were to stay in touch using their Commpacks, and within a matter of minutes everyone except for Wash, who was staying with the ship, had spread out and was searching the area.

Mal sighed as he stepped briskly through the thick carpet of snow on the forest floor. It was freezing, and the sky told him that there was a lot more snow on the way. He knew Zoe and Jayne could hold their own, and he wasn't too worried about Book either, but he wished Kaylee hadn't insisted on helping them look for Simon. Mal knew that she was smart enough not to get lost, but he was still uncomfortable about letting her blunder through the woods all on her own. He hadn't said no, however, partly because he was too anxious to think things through properly, and partly because she seemed so worried about Simon. Mal knew how much she cared for him and that she wanted to make herself useful instead of just waiting on board the ship.

Mal felt a slight pang of guilt shoot through him. He had no idea where it came from, and he definitely didn't have the time to think about what caused it. As he felt the first snowflakes drift into the collar of his coat and looked up at the heavy grey sky, he suddenly spotted something in the corner of his eye.

Whipping his head around, he saw he hadn't imagined it. Next to a small clump of bushes, there was a limp figure lying on the white ground, dressed in black pants and a silk shirt. His heart in his throat, Mal ran up to him, wishing and hoping to everything he held dear that he hadn't been wrong.

"Doc? Simon! Simon, wake up," Mal said, not bothering to hide the anxiety in his voice. There wasn't no one that could hear him, after all. He quickly knelt down next to Simon's still and pale body, and took a small vial from his coat pocket. In an almost automatic movement, he filled the syringe with the liquid, found the vein on Simon's forearm and injected the antidote like he'd done once before.

Mal tossed away the empty syringe and touched Simon's cheek. He was freezing... _Wonder how long he's been lying in the snow_, he thought with a worried frown. Not wanting to waste any more time waiting till Simon woke up, Mal picked him up. Gorram, the boy was heavier than he looked.

Mal grumbled to himself as he struggled through the snowy woods, until he came to a small cave he'd seen earlier, while he'd been searching for Simon. It was only a couple of yards deep, but it was clear of snow and it would shelter them until the crew showed up or until Simon was strong enough to walk back to the ship, whichever came first.

With great effort, Mal crossed the last few yards and carried Simon into the cave. Just as he placed Simon softly on the ground, the young man began to stir. Mal felt relief wash over him.

"Welcome back to the land of the livin', Doc," Mal said with a crooked smile.

Simon's long eyelashes fluttered for a moment, before he blinked and slowly opened his eyes. The very first thing he did, was give Mal a thankful smile that warmed his heart. Before he could say anything, though, Simon's body convulsed violently as the after-effects of the drug made him retch.

"You doin' alright?" Mal asked carefully. Simon took a deep breath and lay back down. He looked up at Mal and nodded, even though he was obviously still shaken.

It wasn't until now that Mal noticed the bad state Simon was in. He'd clearly lost weight, his skin was a sickly pale, he was bruised and battered, and his eyes were all manner of sad and exhausted. The fever had made beads of sweat appear on his forehead. But most of all, he was trembling somethin' fierce. Mal's brow furrowed. "Let's get you warmed up," he said as he took off his long browncoat and sat down beside Simon.

Even though he wasn't in the best shape, Simon still managed to give Mal his worried doctorly frown. "Mal, you'll freeze," he said, teeth clattering.

Mal smirked. "Said the fella with nothin' but his fancy silk shirt on," he retorted. "'Sides, I won't. Basic military survival training, Doc. There ain't nothing better to get someone to the right temperature than body heat. Feel free to disagree if I'm wrong," he finished with a smug grin.

Mal knew he had Simon stumped, so he quickly took the opportunity to unbutton Simon's shirt. He was clearly doin' this to keep Simon warm until the storm had settled, he told himself firmly. And he sure as hell wasn't gonna get all distracted by Simon's soft skin, or the sculpted muscles that were visible right below it. He _wasn't_.

Ignoring Simon's faintly muttered protests and excuses, Mal quickly took off his own shirt, crumpled it up and shoved it under Simon's head as a makeshift pillow. Then he wrapped his arms around Simon and wrapped the both of them in his long coat. The storm was getting worse, and some errant snow-flakes drifted into the cave entrance, but Mal could feel Simon's skin responding to the warmth of his own almost instantly.

"Mal..." Simon mumbled, clearly too tired to even open his eyes.

"Hush," Mal quieted him, "get some sleep." He'd tried to use his captainy voice but he was afraid that it came out a little too husky for that... Still, he didn't get any protests this time.

"Not so cold anymore?" Mal said in a soft voice. Simon shook his head while his eyes remained closed. "Told ya. Didn't they teach you anything in that fancy school of yours, mister top-three-percent?" Mal asked with a smug grin.

As the storm raged on, Mal listened to Simon's steady breathing until he was calm enough to let sleep overpower him too.

------------------------------

Simon woke up, surprised to find himself on a cold, rocky floor. For a brief moment, he though that he was still in his cell, but as Simon cracked one eye open he realized that he was in a cave. In the entrance, a beautiful white carpet of snow spread out before him. So... why was he so warm and comfortable?

That was when he gradually became aware of a warm body that was pressed up against him. It was accompanied by the slow and steady breathing of someone fast asleep.

_Tianna_. Simon remembered with a jolt how Mal had found him and brought him here. Oh, this would turn out all manner of bad...

Careful and slowly, so as not to wake up Mal, he turned to look at the face of the sleeping man. It struck Simon that Mal looked so at peace, so much less worried and troubled than he seemed when he was, well, awake.

Simon couldn't help but smile at such a gorgeous sight. He put his head against Mal's shoulder and draped an arm across his chest. Listening to the steady rhythm of Mal's heartbeat, Simon soon drifted off again.

------------------------------

"Captain!"

"Hunh," Mal stammered when Zoe's anxious voice, coming through the Commpack, woke him with a start. His eyes flew open, and the first thing he saw was Simon's face, in deep sleep and only inches from his own. Mal blinked. Gorram, those lashes were gonna be the death of him.

Simon didn't wake up, he only sighed softly in his sleep, his hand moving slightly so it brushed across Mal's chest. Mal fought the urge to let out a moan, but unfortunately there were other physical reactions he couldn't quite suppress. More importantly, it appeared he wasn't the only one... Mal rolled carefully onto his side so he faced Simon, and pressed into him.

"Captain! You all right?" Zoe's voice crackled through the Commpack again. This time, both Mal and Simon's eyes snapped open instantly.

Too late, Mal realized that he was waiting for Simon to pull back in shock. The Doc from his side must've had the same idea, because as it was, neither of them was moving; they were just staring at one another.

"Right," Mal mumbled as his one hand reached for the Commpack, his eyes still fixed on Simon's. His fingers finally found the transmitter and he closed his hand around it and brought the device to his face. "Hi, Zoe, not to worry. I got him and we're both fine. The storm caught us off-guard is all. We'll be there as soon as we can though, so don't go leavin' without us, you hear?" With that, he closed the connection and shoved the Commpack out of the way.

He only just now noticed that Simon was still trembling from head to toe, and that eyes were unfocused because of the fever. Mal raised an eyebrow. They ought to get back to the ship before Simon got any worse. He propped himself up on one elbow and turned around so he could get up, when he felt Simon's grip tighten on him, not allowing him to get to his feet.

"You can't go," he mumbled drowsily. "I'm seriously ill, remember? I need nursing." Even though Simon was still half asleep, not to mention feverish, Mal could still see a little smile creep onto the young doctor's face.

Mal shook his head and grinned. That boy was so gorram lucky that he could blame all of this on the fever later on. "Why, are you still cold?" he asked, even though he was perfectly aware that that wasn't why Simon was trembling.

Simon blinked, forcing his eyes to focus. "Probably," he said, managing dry wit even in these circumstances.

"Liar," Mal chuckled.

------------------------------

TBC

_Ching Yin : Come in_

_Tianna: God_

_Zhen tama yaoming. Zhuyi : This'll be dangerous, watch your back._


	8. Part 8

**Part eight: where things heat up, Badger gets a mite tetchy, and the crew prepares for their hardest job ever**

Less than an hour after they were off-world again, a short bulletin appeared on the Cortex concerning Simon's death in captivity. After Mal, Zoe and Wash had read it, Wash looked over his shoulder and shot his wife a relieved look. Mal couldn't say he disagreed; this was getting close to being a fortunate turn of events. With any luck, it would keep the Feds off their trail until they could get to River. Mal knew that after that, it was a fair bet that all hell was gonna break loose.

Mal glanced at the capture of Simon that was showing in a loop on the screen. "I'monna go check up on the Doc, see how he's doin'. Let me know if anything happens," he said as he turned and headed for the passenger dorms.

Kaylee came walking out of Simon's room, a worried frown etched on her face, just as Mal was about to enter. She gave her captain a fleeting smile. "Hi Cap'n. He's still a bit drowsy, what with all the stuff he took. I was gonna look after him, but I really gotta go check the atmo feed, and then fetch Cara. I asked Jayne to keep an eye on her." Kaylee grimaced to emphasize her point, before returning to her usual cheerful mode. "Take good care of Simon, Cap! Make sure he gets some sleep, okay?" she said before padding back upstairs.

Mal knocked on the door softly before sliding it open. "Hey, how're you feeling?"

Simon turned his head and a smile appeared on his face. "As well as can be expected, I suppose," he said, rubbing his eyes to shield them from the light that flooded in. Mal quickly closed the door behind him and moved to stand next to the bed, while Simon screwed his eyes shut and started coughing uncontrollably.

All of a sudden, Mal felt himself getting very angry. "You know, for a smart fella, you can be right stupid sometimes. What if I hadn't gotten to you in time, huh? You woulda frozen to death, that's what!" It came out angrier than he had intended, and it seemed like Simon was a bit taken aback as well.

"I couldn't _stay_ there, Mal. I would have died," Simon said in a small voice. It almost sounded like an apology, and Mal immediately felt bad for getting all tetchy. He didn't even want to _think_ about what had happened to Simon, because the thought alone made him want to get hold of the first Alliance puppet that crossed his path and beat him to death.

In a feeble attempt to regain his posture and to remain all distant and captain-like, he crossed his arms in front of his chest and muttered, "Well, you shoulda known we was comin' for you."

"Yes, I know. I'm sorry. Thank you, by the way," Simon replied with a weak smile. Mal felt his resolve to keep his distance waver. Gorram, why d'he have to go an' smile like that?

"Yeah, well, don't mention it," Mal said, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. "Thing is, I don't get why you took off in the first place. Was it because of Jayne? 'Cause if he lays so much as a hand on your sister, I'm havin' him tossed out the airlock."

Simon chuckled, which elicited another coughing fit. Mal flinched. _That really doesn't sound good_, he thought. "I don't know," Simon said after the coughing had settled down. "It's more complicated than that. I took a decision that seemed like the best thing for everyone," he said softly, turning his head to face the wall. Mal felt another pang in his chest. And the Doc didn't think he should _mention_ things like that to him before he just took off? He was the gorram Captain!

It was mostly just his pride that was wounded, Mal realized, so he took in a breath in an effort to stay civil and calm. "Still," he said. "Ain't no safer place in the 'Verse for you than on board this boat. You coulda known you'd go and get yourself snatched, so why'd you put your sister and yourself in that kinda danger?"

Simon whipped his head back around so he could face Mal, his eyes shooting daggers at Mal.

From the icy glare the young doctor gave him, Mal instantly knew he shoulda kept his mouth shut, instead of telling Simon that he'd put River in danger. "I'll have you know, _Captain_, that I was perfectly capable to look after River and keep my family together before you and your ship came into view," Simon said coldly.

"Right," Mal snarled back. "'Cause you were doin' such a bang-up job, bringin' Feds and those eerie-ass Academy folk down on us. If I hadn't sheltered you two, you'da been caught before River ever even got out of that box!" Somewhere in the back of his mind, a little voice was warning Mal that yelling at the Doc and rattling his chains didn't constitute as 'making sure Simon got some sleep'. But the rest of him was just mightily pissed – and that _definitely_ had nothing to do with the really cold way Simon had just called him 'captain' when he'd been calling him 'Mal' for weeks.

Simon didn't say anything, but judging from the way he clenched his jaw and turned his face back to the wall, Mal noticed how his brilliant 'keep your distance'-scheme hadn't exactly gone the way he planned. Suddenly, he felt a desperate need to get out of the room as soon as possible.

"Well, I got a ship to run," he said stiffly, heading for the door. Simon didn't show any sign of having heard him, so Mal quietly slid the door open and shut again behind him, mumbling "Get some sleep, will ya?" as he did so.

------------------------------

"Hey hey, gimme that!" Jayne growled as he yanked a large screwdriver out of Cara's hands and waved it in front of her nose. "This ain't for little girls to be playin' with, ya hear?"

Cara nodded timidly, but it was clear as day that she wasn't at all afraid of him. Jayne briefly wondered why the hell not. _Probably got somethin' to do with her bein' brought up by Badger's thugs an' all_, he thought.

He felt sort of grateful that Kaylee had left the kid for him and Book to watch over. Not that he was overly fond of the girl, but she did distract him and she managed to keep his mind off River and what she was facing. He hated that they just had to wait for a wave from Inara before they could do somethin'. He'd never been partial to waiting, he much preferred gettin' his hands dirty.

"Hi Jayne, hi Shepherd," Kaylee's voice sounded. A second later, she padded into the cargo bay, picking up Cara and settling the little girl on her arm. "Hi sweetie," she said, flashing her a wide smile, "you been a good girl?"

"Nothing we couldn't handle," Book said, looking up from his Bible. "How is Simon doing?" he asked, concern obvious in his voice.

Another brief flash of worry flashed over Kaylee's usually cheerful features. "Hard to tell. He ain't exactly one to overshare how he's feelin', you know. Keeps sayin' he's fine an' that we should all stop worryin'." She shrugged in slight frustration. "I dunno, maybe he's right. He's the doctor, after all."

Seemingly eager to bring up a happier subject, Kaylee smiled at Cara and bounced her up and down. "So, you happy you're gonna see your Daddy again?" Cara nodded avidly, which made the young mechanic chuckle. "Aw, you probably ain't seen him in a good long while, huh?"

Care's bottom lip moved slightly as she nodded, which seemed to change her entire mood from excited to deeply sad. "Mommy took me away 'cause she said Daddy was a bad example."

"Well, she weren't wrong about that," Jayne snorted. He grinned as he looked up from the toolkit he was cleaning, but Kaylee's glare shut him up right away.

"So, what made your Mommy change her mind?" Kaylee asked the little girl. Jayne rolled his eyes. Couldn't they be havin' this conversation on deck, so he could start polishing his guns without Kaylee an' the Shepherd giving him appalled looks?

"Mommy didn't know I was coming to visit Daddy," Cara replied, her eyes twinkling at the thought of having her very own secret. "Daddy's friends came and got me while I was taking my nap." She suddenly frowned as if she was worried Kaylee might spoil everything. "But you can't tell 'cause it's a secret," she added hastily.

"Your Mommy doesn't know where you went?" Book asked cautiously, while he glanced at Jayne and Kaylee, who had gone pale. Cara shook her head and giggled.

"Um, sweetie, be a good girl and go and play with the Shepherd for a spell, okay?" Kaylee uttered, ushering Cara in Book's direction. Book immediately got the hint. He took Cara by the hand and led her into the lounge and out of earshot. Jayne gulped when Kaylee gave him one of her scary glares and stepped dangerously close to him.

"She was _kidnapped_?" Kaylee said, her voice lowered but only slightly. "You guys _kidnapped_ her?" She punched him on the arm to emphasize the word. "We're _kidnappers_ now?" she added, her eyes blazing as she punched him again. For a little girl, she was surprisingly strong, Jayne thought.

For his own safety, he took a step back and rubbed his arm. "Hell, that weren't my fault! I just do the job I'm paid to do. 'Sides, if Badger didn't get to see his own kid, how's that fair to him? She kinda kidnapped the kid first!"

"That ain't the point, Jayne!" Kaylee exclaimed. "We shouldn'ta gotten in the middle o'this. It's a family matter and you know it." She shook her head gravely. "Her mom is gonna be so worried…"

Jayne chuckled as something funny suddenly struck him. Kaylee's eyes narrowed, as if she was preparing for something really horrible. "What could possibly be funny?" she asked.

"Well," Jayne said slowly, "since we didn't get 'er delivered to the rendezvous point and to Badger, but dragged her with us to the ass-end of the galaxy, we actually kidnapped 'er twice. Hell, that's gotta be some kinda record, ain't it?" He gave her a lopsided grin.

Kaylee opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again like a fish. Then she just threw her hands in the air and turned on her heels, mumbling, "Never mind, I'll go talk to Zoe," as she left Jayne in her wake.

Jayne shrugged to himself. "Hell, _I_ thought it was funny."

------------------------------

After several hours of feverish sleep, constantly interrupted by blinding headaches and coughing fits that felt like they were tearing his lungs into little pieces, Simon woke up feeling pleasantly dazed. His cough was gone and his throat, head and everything else felt comfortably numb. He knew that it would only last until the medication wore off, but it still felt great. There was a lot that could be said about Serenity and its crew, but not that its infirmary wasn't stocked with everything you could possibly ask for in situations like these, Simon thought with a satisfied smile.

After he had stumbled out of the bed and up to the chair that had his clothes draped over it, he managed to get his pants and shirt back on and cautiously walked into the empty corridor. He slid his hands along the wall to keep everything from spinning while he crossed the small distance to the infirmary. _Ow. Maybe not my brightest idea._

Simon hadn't been in the infirmary for two minutes – well, he _thought_ it had been two minutes, although in all honesty, time had gone a bit loopy – when he heard the sound of familiar footsteps. He didn't have to look over his shoulder to know Mal was standing in the doorway, looking at him.

"What in the hell are you doin'?" Mal said. He still sounded angry.

Simon didn't look up and continued looking through all the drawers, mumbling, "I'm going to get my sister out of there, so I'm looking for something to help me focus." He turned to face Mal, leaning on the counter for support. "I can't save River while I'm like this."

Mal nodded calmly. "Right. An' how exactly are you plannin' on doin' just that? We're in deep space, so unless helping your sister means taking a walk in the black in your pj's…" Simon instantly looked down at his pants and shirt with a confused frown. Mal rolled his eyes. "Figure of speech. 'Sides, why _aren't_ you in your pj's, anyway?"

Why couldn't Mal just understand? It was so tiresome to have to explain everything, Simon thought, exasperated. Forcing himself to stay cogent, he said, "I _have_ to get her out, Mal. It's my fault she got taken in the first place."

Mal groaned as he walked up to Simon. "It ain't your fault, Simon. It ain't anybody's fault, 'cepting maybe the _hwoon dahns_ that took her."

"I can't just do nothing!" Simon cried out. It was bad enough that he felt so rutting guilty; he didn't think he could stand to be useless as well. "I need --"

"What you need," Mal interrupted, grabbing him by the shoulders and steering him away from the counter and back to the door, "is rest. And that's an order."

Simon chuckled as he shrugged off Mal's hands and turned around. "You might be captain, but I don't think you're in charge of my health, Mal," he said. "Besides, I need to test my vitals." Before Mal had a chance to protest, Simon quickly walked back to the counter and grabbed the thermometer.

Mal rolled his eyes and leaned against one of the glass panes, arms crossed. "Your vitals are fine an' dandy. _Ai ya tien ah_, they sure as hell weren't joking when they first said that doctors make for lousy patients," he said with a crooked little smile that made Simon go slightly weak in the knees. He wished like hell that Mal would just leave the room already.

"The only thing you need is rest," Mal went on. _Wo de ma_, the man was unrelenting. _He might not be wrong though_, Simon thought as he noticed that his vision was becoming more blurred by the minute. He quickly held on to the counter for support, hoping that Mal hadn't noticed. No such luck, because Mal immediately walked back up to him and grabbed him by the shoulders, ready to steer him back to his room again.

Simon just sighed, admitting defeat, and nodded quietly. He didn't say a word though, he'd rather die than admit that Mal was right. Even so, he was too tired to argue, and all he wanted to do was crawl into his warm bed and sleep. He felt like he could sleep for days.

"Good man. Now, let's get you tucked in," Mal said. Simon nodded again, and felt himself fall forward as his legs decided to stop supporting him altogether. "Whoa. I got ya, Doc," Mal said quickly, as he managed to keep Simon upright.

"Thanks," Simon mumbled, his head coming to rest on Mal's shoulder. He could feel his eyes drooping shut and tried his very best not to fall asleep on the spot. "And when are you finally going to start calling me Simon?" he added, vaguely aware of the fact that his sentences were starting to sound like one long word. _Rutting medication_...

After a few seconds, in which Simon was sure he had fallen asleep, Mal softly said, "Simon..." Simon opened his eyes and lifted his head in surprise. He half expected the captain to scold him again for not getting any rest, but instead he saw something else in Mal's eyes. Simon had no idea what it meant, but he felt a warm glow spreading throughout his stomach.

"Mal," he murmured, not sure what he should say next. Instead, Simon simply lifted his head and captured Mal's lips in a kiss. After all the mixed signals he'd already gotten, he was sure that Mal would kick him off the ship for this – either that or shoot him – but to his surprise, Mal responded by deepening their kiss.

The exhaustion Simon was feeling just a moment ago vanished completely as Mal shoved him against the counter, kissing him like there was no tomorrow. Simon could feel the sharp edge of the counter top press into his back, but he couldn't care less. Instead he let his body mold to Mal's, his tongue seeking entrance, moaning softly as Mal's knee forced his legs apart.

Simon felt dizzy, almost as if he was about to faint – it certainly didn't help that all of his blood was rapidly pooling in his groin. Mal seemed to have noticed that as well, because he pressed himself hard against him, the edge of the counter still cutting in the small of Simon's back.

"Ow," Simon smiled against Mal's lips. "You know, this is really uncomfortable." Mal grinned and proceeded to attack his neck while muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'I don't care'. Mal momentarily pulled back and started fumbling with Simon's vest buttons, saying, "Why you always gotta be wearin' so many ruttin' layers?" in obvious frustration.

Simon couldn't suppress a chuckle. Mal looked up, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Bunk. Now," he ordered. Something in the way that he said it made Simon both nervous and tingly in anticipation. He just nodded and practically tore out of the infirmary.

"Call yourself sick," Mal scolded teasingly from behind, as he followed him out of the room.

------------------------------

They weren't even halfway there when Kaylee came running towards them. "Oh good, I was just comin' to look for the both o' you. Inara's on the Cortex, says she got hold of River's whereabouts!"

Without ever breaking his stride, Simon walked right past the crew quarters and to the bridge. Mal followed suit. He wasn't sure what would have happened if Kaylee hadn't come to warn them. Half of him wanted to kick something out of frustration for the interruption, but the other half was grateful for it. Besides, there were more important matters to see to right now.

As he stepped onto the bridge, he noticed that everyone was already there – even Cara. He smiled fleetingly at Inara's face on the Cortex screen.

"Hi Mal," she greeted, flashing him a smile that immediately faded and made way for a slightly worried frown. "You look flushed, are you alright?"

"Fine," Mal said, maybe just a little too quickly. "I'm fine, I just had to cross the whole gorram ship is all. So, what did you find out?"

"From what I've gathered, River is being quarantined in a highly guarded secret facility on Londinium. I haven't been able to discover all that much, but they apparently didn't want to risk sending her back to the Academy after Simon's assisting in her escape."

Mal glanced at Simon, who was staring at Inara with a mixture of dejection and despair. Mal knew that he had hoped that his knowledge of the Academy's layout and security systems would be of use. Instead, they'd have to land on the most heavily secured planet in the galaxy, carrying a fugitive and a kidnapped child, and gain access to a secret facility without having any idea what it even looked like.

"Did you find out anything else?" Simon said in a strained voice.

"I'm afraid not. I'll keep looking though – but I'm sure that River is fine, Simon," Inara answered with a comforting smile. "They wouldn't have gone through all the trouble of finding her if they meant to truly harm her." Simon nodded quietly, but it was clear that he was thinking the same thing Mal was thinking. _You mean any more than they already did? _

Kaylee was just staring at her friend in awe. "How d'you manage to find all that stuff, 'Nara?" she asked curiously.

Inara just smiled mysteriously. "I have my sources. Now, I really must be going." She was all manner of collected and calm, but Mal knew that she simply didn't think that Kaylee would want to know how she got her intel. Hell, Mal didn't even want to know. All it would make him do, was that he'd want to kill all those sources she had 'acquired'.

"You'll let us know if you find out anything more?" he asked.

"Of course. I'll be in touch."

"Stay outta trouble," Wash grinned at her before closing the connection. Without wasting time, he started pushing buttons and punching in numbers. "We're pretty far out, still on the Rim. If we set course now and burn hard enough, we can get to the Core in a day or seven. Maybe less, but that could fry us."

Mal nodded. "Seven will be fine. Should give us time to come up with a plan, such as it may be. Zoe, get in touch with Badger, tell him we're sorry for kidnapping his offspring, and that we're all manner of occupied right now; but that we'll drop her off soon enough as long as he promises not to kill us." Zoe raised an eyebrow. Mal paused for a moment, then added, "But, you know, politely. Don't say it like _that_."

"Got it, Sir," Zoe said simply, and sat down next to Wash, hoisting Cara on her lap.

Mal turned to his young mechanic. "Kaylee, think you can swing an upgrade so we can shave off some time in gettin' to Londinium?"

Kaylee furrowed her brow. "Y'know Cap'n, I can't keep riggin' up Serenity without any extra parts, I ain't no magician!" she said, seemingly insulted that Mal was asking Serenity to do even more than she already did. Off Mal's look, she raised her hands and added, "But, sure, no problem. Consider it done." She flashed her captain a brilliant smile before skidding to the engine room.

"Right, I want the rest o'you in the common room. We need a plan," Mal finished briskly, before he stepped off the bridge with Book, Simon and Jayne in his wake.

------------------------------

"Bye now, darling. Be a good girl!" Badger said as Cara waved at her father on the screen and slid off Zoe's lap. Badger smiled until she had padded out of the room; then his face fell and he glared furiously at Wash and Zoe.

"Where is that no good Captain Reynolds o' yours?" Badger barked at the both of them. Wash was pretty relieved that they were safely separated from the guy by lots and lots of space, because Badger looked like he was willing to shoot at the Cortex screen in the hopes that the bullets would hit Zoe and him.

Zoe stared at Badger. "He's busy. We know things haven't gone as planned, but we're planning to bring Cara over as soon as we can make it to Persephone," Zoe said serenely. Wash never ceased to be amazed by his wife's ability to be a picture of calm while people wanted to riddle her with holes.

Badger's eyes shot daggers at her. "As soon as you can _make it_? Do you know who you're dealing with, lady?" he said through gritted teeth. The sentence was followed by a string of Chinese and English curses that made very clear why Badger had kept his temper in check until his daughter had left the room.

Zoe and Wash waited patiently until Badger had used up all the curse words he knew and had calmed down somewhat. Then Zoe attempted to arrange a rendezvous as soon as they'd dock at Eavesdown, and closed the connection before Badger could go into another temper tantrum.

Wash blew out a breath. "Whew. That man has a awful colorful vocabulary," he said, leaning back and stretching in his seat.

Zoe smiled at him. "Well, as long as that's all. Words are something we can handle."

"Speaking of," Wash said, punching in some more coordinates, "Our course is all set. We should go to the galley, shouldn't we? Find out what brilliant scheme Mal's cooking up to get us all killed?" Zoe grinned and nodded before following her husband to the common room.

------------------------------

"I don't see what's wrong with jus' taking one of them high ranked _hwoon dahns_ hostage an' shooting everyone we meet until they lead us to River!" Jayne said loudly, banging his fist on the table. Honestly, it didn't seem like all that bad a plan. He'd even come up with the hostage thing, which sounded right smart if you asked him.

Mal groaned. "Only that you wouldn't even make it inside the ruttin' building without being shot to little bitty pieces. These Alliance mongrels would just as soon shoot you as—"

"Badger would?" Zoe finished his sentence, as she and Wash walked into the mess.

Mal turned around. "You talked to Badger? What did he say?"

Wash grimaced. "We didn't catch all of it, some of it might have been him speaking in tongues," he said as he grabbed a seat and sat down next to Book.

"I believe it had something to do with feeding our livers to his dogs, Sir." Zoe smiled as she sat down next to her husband. "I told Badger that we'll drop off Cara as soon as we have the chance," she said.

"Great," Mal sighed. "One more thing to deal with. We'll be lucky to even land on Persephone without Badger sending every Fed and thug in the 'Verse after us…"

"Hey, we was talkin 'bout River, remember? Don't go changin' the subject!" Jayne interrupted. Mal glared at him angrily, but he couldn't care less right now. Mal might be the Captain, but they were all tryin' to find a plan, weren't they? They should be focused on that instead of Badger and his lowlife pond scum.

Jayne wasn't really sure why he cared so much. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the Doc wasn't saying a gorram thing. She was his ruttin' _sister_ and he wasn't sayin' a word. All he was doin' was staring at the tabletop like it was the second coming. How was that gonna help his sister?

"We're getting to that, Jayne," Mal said calmly, setting his hands on the table and frowning at him.

"Yeah well, _someone's_ gotta come up with a plan or some such," Jayne growled, giving the Doc an intent look. Simon looked up, his eyes focusing on Jayne's. He looked confused, sad and tired all at once, and Jayne almost felt bad for getting testy. Almost.

Simon rubbed his temple with a sigh, and pushed back his chair, ready to leave the room. Jayne noticed how Mal was giving him a glare that made him somewhat grateful that looks couldn't kill. He sighed and got up before Simon had a chance. "Don't bother," he said, and left the room before anyone could stop him.

TBC

_Hwoon dahn: bastard_

_Ai ya tien ah: merciless hell_

_Wo de ma: mother of Jesus_


	9. Part 9

**A Lonely Road, part 9: in which the boys blow hot and cold, Kaylee gets the good gossip, Simon is a criminal mastermind and the crew goes to battle.**

After spending several hours chewing over possible options and getting absolutely nowhere, the crew slowly started to disperse, retiring for the night or returning to their jobs. Mal was already out of his chair and halfway to his bunk when he noticed Simon. The young doctor was still sitting at the table, staring at his hands.

A frown formed on Mal's face. Simon had been quiet-like throughout the entire evening. "You okay?" he asked. Simon looked up and glanced at him with a dazed expression, and Mal felt certain that the Doc hadn't even been aware that he was still in the room. "You ain't spoke a word the whole time."

"I'm just..." Simon began slowly, clearly searching for the right words. Dejection was written across his face, so clearly that it made Mal more than a mite uncomfortable. Then Simon suddenly interrupted himself. "What's the point, Mal?" he asked, sounding agitated. "I mean, you have _no_ idea how long it took me to gain access to River last time. I devoted two years of my life to it, and I _barely_ pulled it off."

Mal sighed and sat down next to Simon, putting a hand on his shoulder. He could feel the feverish warmth of his skin radiate through the fabric of the shirt. A brief image of what they could be doing flashed through his mind, but he quickly brushed it away. There were more pressing matters at hand. "That's just your fever talkin', Doc. I bet you'll feel differently in the mornin'."

Simon looked up. "Gee, thanks, doctor," he said with a laconic little smile. He moved a hand to his shoulder and put it on top of Mal's.

Mal felt a jolt of electricity flare in his abdomen and quickly closed his eyes before Simon would be able to spot the desire in his eyes. As he opened them again, the young doctor was looking at him, one eyebrow quirked in a questioning look. _Go se_, why'd he have to look so gorram good?

"Give me five minutes," Simon said simply. Mal blinked and swallowed loudly. Then he nodded mutely, got up and walked back to his quarters.

_Definitely not dumb, that one..._

------------------------------

"Um, Kaylee, you got a minute to spare?"

Kaylee emerged from her spot underneath the engine to see Jayne standing in the engine room entrance, shifting his weight awkwardly from one foot to the other.

"Surely do, I was just fiddlin' anyway. I put Cara to bed in my bunk just now. She was s'posed to be stayin' in one of the passenger dorms, but the poor darlin' was so scared of the dark that I figured she could just as easily stay in my bunk. There's lights on and it don't bother me none to sleep on the floor." She flashed him a cheerful smile. "It's still a bit early for me to go to bed though, so I decided to check the extenders. They been givin' us a fair amount of grief lately," she babbled.

"Anyway, whatcha got on your mind?" Kaylee asked, her curiosity getting the upper hand. If Jayne wanted to have a talk, it was a fair bet to say that things were probably pretty bad.

"Well, you an' River are good friends an' all that, right?" Jayne asked, leaning against the bulkhead and looking down at her with a frown.

Kaylee's eyebrows soared instantly. That was an awful unexpected question. "Well, yeah. She's a real sweetheart, ain't she? I bet that if she was here, her and Cara would be as close as..." She paused, looking for a nice comparison. "Well, two very close things," she finally said with a grin. "Why d'you ask?"

_I hope I ain't gonna be regrettin' asking that_, she thought. You never rightly knew what Jayne was thinking, but it usually wasn't proper at all.

Jayne scratched the back of his head and stared at the rotating engine intently. "I was just interested in knowin' if she's been talkin' about me lately is all," he finally uttered.

Kaylee gawped at him for just a second. Did he mean...? Then her eyes widened and she clapped a hand over her mouth, barely managing to suppress a giggle fit. "You like River!" she exclaimed.

"Gorram it, girl! Don't shout it so the whole ruttin' ship can hear ya!" Jayne snapped. He shot a panicky look at the corridor as if he was expecting the entire crew to come storming their way and riddle him with holes.

Kaylee was still trying very hard not to giggle. "Aw, you like River. That's so cute!" she went on. She was way too excited to lower her voice – this was huge news! Her hand went to her mouth again as she suddenly thought of something. "Oh Jayne, the Cap'n is so gonna whup you when he finds out," she added, in spite of her excitement.

Jayne grunted. "Don't I know it. But he ain't gonna find out, you hear me?" he added with an attempt at an intimidating glare.

Kaylee barely registered it however, since she was still unable to stop squealing. "Aw! I mean, I knew River had a real crush on ya, but I didn't know that you did, too! Ain't that just... aww!"

"She does? And hey!" Jayne barked, "I don't got no ruttin' _crush_. I just wanted to know is all," he said, crossing his arms defensively.

"Sure, Jayne," Kaylee giggled. "And don't you worry none, we'll have River back before you can spit. I'm sure that everything'll turn out shiny." Off Jayne's doubtful look, she added, "I mean to say, the Cap'n let Wash and Zoe stay on board the ship, didn't he? Even though he ain't keen on shipboard romances."

------------------------------

Simon had a bit of trouble getting his feet to support him, and nearly tripped over them in his hurry to get down the ladder that led to Mal's bunk. When he finally felt his left foot touch the floor, he barely had time to turn around and utter a surprised gasp before Mal pushed him against the metal ladder and pounced on him.

Simon closed his eyes for just a moment, feeling pretty sure that he could do this forever. He tried desperately not to lose control as Mal assaulted him with his tongue, his teeth grazing Simon's lips, but there was no way he could suppress the warm glow that was spreading in his abdomen.

Finally, Simon pulled back slightly and chuckled. "Ow. You do know that you don't _have_ to keep pressing me up against sharp edges, don't you? There's a bed right behind you." Mal blinked, and Simon couldn't help but feel a bit gleeful that Mal was taken aback by his obvious self-assuredness.

Mal quickly regained his composure, however. He nodded, and without wasting any more time he grabbed Simon by the arm and dragged him to the bed, their eyes never unlocking. They sank onto the bed unceremoniously, and Simon immediately pushed Mal onto his back. He leaned over him and began to work his neck, placing hot wet kisses along his neckline until he heard Mal mutter a soft curse in the back of his throat.

Planting his hands on Simon's cheeks, Mal lifted his face and looked at him, his brow furrowing when he noticed the sheen of sweat forming on Simon's skin. "Looks like the fever ain't gone yet. Sure you feel all right?"

Mal's worried frown made Simon come completely unglued. "I'll be fine," he said with a soft smile. To prove his point, he began to kiss every inch of Mal's skin he could reach – his ears, cheeks, nose... – while he fumbled impatiently with Mal's shirt buttons.

"Whoa, take it slow, son," Mal whispered hoarsely.

"Don't think I can," Simon panted, breaths of hot air brushing against the skin of Mal's throat. He didn't care if this were simply the events of the last week that were finally taking their toll on him, or the exhaustion and the stress that had finally caught up with him. Truth be told, he was tired of thinking.

He finally managed to undo all of Mal's buttons and let his hands explore Mal's bare chest. He could feel the muscles right below Mal's skin twitch with every touch. His fingers softly brushed over all of the scars on Mal's skin, and Simon made a mental note to subject all of them to a thorough examination at a later time. _Later. Not now._

Mal sighed in mock exasperation, making Simon rest his chin on Mal's chest and look up at him. He threaded a hand in Simon's hair and pulled him up for a passionate kiss. "Then I guess I'll have to make ya," he declared with a crooked grin. He placed his hands firmly on Simon's shoulders and flipped him around, so Simon suddenly found himself lying flat on his back with Mal straddling him. Not that he minded at all.

Mal began to undo Simon's buttons excruciatingly slow, until he finally managed to remove his shirt entirely and let it fall to the floor. "Hey," he said suddenly, looking Simon in the eyes as he realized something. "No layers."

Simon shook his head. "No layers," he replied with a triumphant grin that almost matched Mal's.

That was also the last coherent thought that filtered through his brain, because the next moment Mal was placing wet kisses up and down his chest and stomach, circling his tongue around Simon's bellybutton before moving back up and biting down gently on one of his nipples. Simon gasped and closed his eyes. He almost wished that this wouldn't feel so rutting great. Almost.

Slowly but surely, Mal was driving him completely insane, and Simon wasn't altogether sure how much more he could take. He could barely form a thought – but unlike at any other time, his brain didn't seem to be a major concern right now. Right now, he felt as if he was about to explode. He'd been hard for much too long already, and the feeling of Mal's erection pressing firmly against his hip didn't make things any easier on him.

"_Tianna_, Mal. Are you trying to kill me?" Simon groaned in frustration when Mal showed no sign of being in a hurry. He pressed his hips hard against Mal's while his hands continued to explore every inch of the man's skin. Placing his hand over Mal's heart, Simon couldn't help but smile when he felt it thump. "Your heart's racing," he whispered against Mal's lips.

Mal just grinned and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, thanks doctor. Mayhap you can hazard a guess as to what's makin' that happen, huh?"

Simon grinned back. "Don't be a smartass," he said, tapping Mal lightly on the chest before attacking his left earlobe with his teeth once more.

Mal responded by grinding his hips against Simon's, eliciting a moan from both of them. Since the throbbing in his nether regions had completely erased Simon's ability to think, he instinctively let his hands travel down to the bulge in Mal's pants. Mal immediately followed suit by letting his hand slide down Simon's stomach and unbuttoning his pants. Overcome with lust, Simon writhed and moaned, and let his hand slide further down to cup Mal firmly.

Mal gasped, bucking his hips and pressing himself into Simon's hand. Seconds later, his fingers had found the waistband of Simon's boxers and began drawing slow circles right above his hipbone. Simon squirmed, aching to be touched. _Sadist_, he thought.

"Please, Mal..." he heard himself whisper in between pants, before Mal took his breath away and silenced him by capturing his opened mouth in a searing kiss. Finally, Mal's hand slipped under the waistband of Simon's boxers and grasped him firmly. That alone was enough to drive him over the edge, and his world went black as he climaxed with a shudder.

When Simon opened his eyes again after what seemed like an eternity, he saw Mal's eyes boring into him, dark with lust. Simon smiled and kissed him passionately while slowly tipping him over so he was lying on his back. He let his hand travel languidly up and down Mal's thigh, until he was certain that Mal was about ready to explode his own self. Then, he quickly lowered Mal's boxers and started to kiss a trail down his stomach, before gently licking the tip of Mal's erection.

Mal gasped loudly, and Simon quickly took advantage of that to wrap a hand around Mal's length as he continued to kiss and lick the tip of it. Seconds later, Mal too fell over the edge with a loud moan.

As soon as they had both found their breath again, Simon crawled against Mal and rested his head on his chest. When he looked up at Mal however, he was frowning.

"What's wrong?" Simon asked tentatively, afraid of what the answer might be.

"You're drenched," Mal said, sounding slightly worried.

Simon couldn't help but let out a relieved chuckle. "Oh. Yes, I can imagine that this didn't do wonders for my fever."

"Yeah well, I didn't hear no complainin'," Mal replied gruffly. His voice hummed softly in Simon's ear, making him feel pleasantly dazed. "Did hear lotsa moaning and begging though," he added with a smug grin.

"Shut up," Simon said with a big smile, placing soft butterfly kisses on Mal's collarbone. It was mere minutes before Mal dozed off, and Simon felt sleep begin to overpower him as well. But even now, as he drifted off into the most peaceful sleep he'd had in days, he couldn't shake the nagging feeling that had been with him for weeks.

------------------------------

When Mal woke up, the first thing he saw was a head of thick dark hair against his shoulder. Mal closed his eyes momentarily and suppressed a laugh so as not to wake Simon – never in all his days had he thought he'd ever see the Doc with his hair all mussed.

_Whoa. Stop. What the hell are you doin'? _Mal's hand, which was about to stroke Simon's hair, froze in mid-air. _This is bad. A whole lotta bad. This is the worst idea you've ever had, and then some._

Not caring anymore whether it would wake up Simon or not, Mal sat upright and practically bolted out of the bed. He had to get out of his room before he could do any more damage, he thought as he started scrambling around for his clothes. _Ta ma de_, how could he have been so ruttin' stupid, letting his hormones get the better of him at a time such as this? He could do without complications right now, and Simon even more so.

"You're going?" Simon's sleepy voice came from the bed. His bed. Simon Tam, his medic, was in his bed. There were not enough swear words in English and Chinese combined to express the mess he'd gotten himself into. Simon rolled over to face him and yawned. _So darn cute. Stop it._

"Yeah," Mal replied, mustering a smile as he strapped his left boot. "Got captainy things need attendin'."

Simon propped himself up on his elbows and nodded slowly. "Good thinking. I have doctory things to do as well."

Mal momentarily forgot the speech he'd been preparing in his head, crossed his arms in front of him and glared at the doctor. Simon grimaced and put up his hands in a mock surrendering gesture. "Or get some rest. Fine," he said, before giving him a smile. It was the first genuine smile Mal had seen from him since this whole mess had started, and it made what he was gonna say even more difficult. The fact that Simon wasn't acting all flustered and awkward like Mal had half expected him to, only added to that.

"But I really feel much better. Besides, who's the doctor here?" Simon went on, falling back onto the pillows and looking up at Mal with eyes that were so much more alive than they'd been in weeks. Mal wished like hell that Simon'd stop looking at him like that. Like he was a good man.

In the moment of silence that followed, Mal gathered the nerve to speak his piece, but in the end it was Simon who talked first.

"I meant what I said before, you know. If they moved River someplace else, someplace more secure..." He stared up at Mal. "I don't think it can be done."

Mal frowned. He should've known that Simon was never really carefree, not even when he looked the part. "I don't hold to that. Someone says 'it can't be done', I get a powerful urge to do it anyway," Mal said, a cynical smile tugging at his lips. "I don't give up, never will. I ain't a quitter, and I honestly never saw you as one either."

Simon frowned. "That's not even..."

"She's your sister, Simon," Mal interrupted him.

Simon couldn't suppress an exasperated sigh. "I _know_ that! There is nothing I wouldn't do for River. Trust me," he said softly.

Mal shrugged. "So, lend us a hand. Ain't no way we can do this without your help. You know the Core better than all of us, helped us get into that fancy Alliance hospital an' all. This'll be just like that."

"No, it really won't be," Simon said darkly. "But I've been thinking about it, and there's something that might be worth a try... I'm going to need Inara's help though." Mal nodded mutely. Silence filled the room again, and Mal looked at Simon with a frown. _Right. Now or never._

"This isn't gonna end well, is it?" he said suddenly.

Simon shook his head in understanding. "No, I don't think it will. But if we plan it well --"

"Wasn't talking about that," Mal said quickly.

Simon locked eyes with Mal, comprehension dawning on his features. "Oh," was all he said. Then he nodded quietly. "Yes, I agree. We should keep our distance and concentrate on helping River right now."

"And after that, too." There, he'd said it.

Simon didn't say anything, he just stared at Mal as if he'd been holding a gun to the Doc's head. Anger and disbelief were battling on Simon's face, and it made Mal want to take it back. He couldn't, though, so he went on.

"Seriously, no good is ever gonna come of this, ain't that obvious?" It wasn't an easy thing to say, but it needed to be said. He couldn't back down from it now, not even when the look he saw in Simon's eyes made his heart plummet into his stomach. "Best we forgot anything ever happened."

Before he could change his mind, Mal grabbed his holster and climbed up the ladder and out of the room. He could be a downright son of a bitch if he wanted to – and sometimes when he didn't particularly want to, too.

------------------------------

Wash was calmly looking out into the black. The screens didn't show a single ship or planet that was near enough to spot them or collide with them, but they were nearing the Core, and it never hurt to keep an eye open. 'Sides, he liked looking at the stars.

As he was readjusting his dinosaurs – placing the stegosaurus underneath a palm tree and the T-Rex at the far end of the console, just to be safe – he heard someone come up behind him.

"Hi there, Simon," he said, slightly surprised at the Doc's company at this early hour. "Anything wrong, or is this merely a social call? I'm sure I can round up some tea and biscuits," he said with a grin.

Simon smiled back, but Wash noticed how his eyes remained as sad and distant as they had been since Zoe and Mal had sprung him. "As nice as that sounds, I actually need your help with something," Simon explained.

"Well, helping is what I do best," Wash replied cheerfully. "How can I be of assistance?"

"I just thought of something that might help me to get River out, but I'm going to need to get in touch with a couple of people. People that are hard to get a hold of. Do you think you can rustle up some secure feeds so we won't get traced?"

Instead of saying 'yes', Wash just punched in some numbers and began pressing several buttons. "Consider it done," he said, biting his lip as he racked his brain trying to remember the right codes. "Just give me five minutes."

"Thanks. Mind if I keep you company until you get the connection to work?" Without waiting for an answer, Simon sat down in the seat next to Wash's, looking at him through tired eyes as he set up the connection.

"Wash, can I ask you a question?"

"Um, sure. Fire away," Wash said distractedly, sliding out of his seat and under the control panel so he could rewire the cables.

"How did you know you were in love with Zoe?"

"Ow!" Wash yelped loudly as he jolted upright and bumped his head into the control panel. Rubbing the sore spot, he crawled from underneath it and stared at Simon in surprise. _Wow, that was the most personal question I've heard him ask in... well, ever._

"Well," he said as he sat back and composed himself, "I'm not sure. I guess I've always been in love with Zoe. Don't think I would've taken this job if it hadn't been for her. Don't know if you noticed, but this ain't exactly the most attractive ship in the 'Verse. Zoe made up for that, though – amply, I might add," he said, raising his eyebrows suggestively.

Pressing the last couple of buttons, Wash smiled to himself as he remembered his first months on board of Serenity. "But I guess I didn't _know_ until she asked me to shave off my mustache." Off the confused look on Simon's face, he went on, "I loved that lip ferret more than anything, but when she asked me, I got rid of it without complaining. Well, okay, maybe there was _some_ complaining. Bottom line is, I think it was the fact that I was willin' to make sacrifices for her." He shrugged. Then, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared at Simon suspiciously. "Wait. This isn't gonna be like the talk I never had with my dad, is it?"

Simon's shook his head, a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. "No, it's – I just wanted to – Forget I said anything. That was actually very helpful, thank you."

"Any time." Wash said, unable to hide the fact that he was getting slightly confused now. Simon was acting decidedly strange... "There you go. One secure feed, coming right up." He punched in the last number with a dramatic gesture.

"Now, I'm gonna leave you to your brilliant scheming and go get some coffee. Or coffee-flavoured water anyway. Just yell if we're about to crash into something," he said with a grin, before relinquishing his seat so Simon could sit in it.

------------------------------

It hadn't taken more than a few hours for Simon to get in touch with the right people. He'd pressed the 'com button and asked everyone politely to gather in the mess, and by the time he entered the room, everyone was already sitting around the table. Well, except for Wash and Cara. The little girl was sitting on his foot, clinging to his right leg and giggling happily as Wash stepped, hopped and skipped through the room.

"What d'you get us all out here for? We finally got a plan or some such?" Jayne asked, sounding grumpy as ever.

"Actually, yes," Simon replied, deciding not to ignore Jayne for once. Ignoring Mal sounded like a much better plan at the moment. He was pretty sure he'd lose it if he was forced to talk to the captain. He couldn't afford to fall apart, he had to stay calm and not let anyone rattle his chains.

"About ruttin' time," Jayne grunted under his breath.

Despite himself, Simon rolled his eyes. "Yes, Jayne, thank you. After all the hard work _you've_ been doing in coming up with a plan, I'm sure –"

"Can we maybe get to a point in the direct future?" Mal interrupted, leaning against the wall and tapping his fingers impatiently against the woodgrain. Simon just gave him his most vile glare before continuing.

"Right. As expected, there is absolutely no chance that we can get into the facility where River is being detained."

Kaylee frowned. "But... then how is it we got a plan? I mean, we do have a plan, right?"

Shooting her a reassuring smile, Simon nodded. "I think so, yes. I still have a few contacts among the people who helped me rescue River last year, and with a little help from Wash I was able to contact them just now."

"What'd they say?" Mal's eyebrow soared, no doubt offended at not being in the loop on things, Simon thought with a certain amount of glee.

"Apparently, River is going to be transported from the Alliance facility to a new holding centre that was recently built for former Academy students. It seems that the original Academy was deemed lacking in security," Simon informed them with a wry smile. It was sad to think that he had indirectly been responsible for the construction of an even more advanced Academy...

Book nodded understandingly. "And you believe that we might be able to save River when she's being transported from one facility to the other?" Simon nodded.

"You know, that ain't half dumb. Findin' the weakest spot in their trajectory an' all that, kill whoever's guardin' her. Might work." Jayne took a huge swig from the cup in front of him and grinned.

Simon was unable to suppress a smile. "Glad I have your approval, Jayne." He took a deep breath. "Now, we'll be hitting Londinium atmo in a couple of hours. I talked to Inara and she's going to get us clearance to land in the restricted flying zone. I also arranged for a contact of mine to pick us up there. He'll supply us with false ident cards, just in case we need them, and drive us to the spot where we'll hijack the transport," he finished.

Zoe nodded slowly. "Sounds solid enough, assuming your contract is trustworthy."

"As trustworthy as is possible under the circumstances. Look, I know that there are about a million things that can go wrong in this plan, but it's the only one we have. I suggest that Wash, Kaylee, Cara, and the Shepherd stay on board and make sure we're ready to leave in a hurry. Mal, Zoe and Jayne help me do the job."

Raising an eyebrow, Zoe leaned forward in her chair. "You sure you're up for that, doctor? You ain't exactly the picture o'health right now."

"I'm the only one who knows our contact, remember? Besides, it's best if I go. There's no telling what state River will be in, if we do manage to find her." Simon willed himself not to think about that quite yet. He looked at everyone in the room in turn – except Mal – and said, "What do you guys think?"

"Sounds like a plan. Any chance I might get a say in any o'this?" Mal asked, giving Simon a glare that chilled him to the bone. Sadness and anger battled inside of him for a minute, but anger won by a landslide.

"No," he said coolly.

Wash choked on his drink, spluttering and coughing. Everyone else just blinked and shifted their gaze from Simon to Mal, waiting for the captain to erupt.

Before Mal could say or punch anything – or anyone – however, Jayne pushed his chair back loudly. Simon had to admit that he was slightly thankful for the interruption. He shouldn't let Mal rile him so much. Right now was really not a good time to start a spat about what had clearly been a one-time thing.

"Jayne? You goin' someplace?" Mal asked as Jayne got up and began walking out of the room.

Jayne looked over his shoulder but didn't break his stride. "I'monna go get Vera."

------------------------------

"Permission for docking. Processing," the metallic voice sounded through the speakers. Zoe involuntarily held her breath. "Granted." She squeezed her husband's shoulder in relief. _First hurdle_.

Inara hadn't been joking when she'd said that she would get them clearance to land, Zoe thought as the landing grids on the monitor turned from red to green. She looked out at the low buildings and neat avenues that led from the landing area to the city, which was shimmering in the distance, the suns reflecting on the glass and chrome. Sure looked pretty, but it was still the last place she wanted to be in the whole gorram 'Verse... _Don't think about that_.

"Right," she said slowly as Wash put Serenity on the ground with the utmost precision and gentleness. "Time to go be heroes."

"We'll be ready in case you need us, honey. Be careful, okay?" he told her, worry obvious on his face. She nodded, gave him a kiss and headed down into the cargo bay. It was empty, except for Simon, who was pacing around and was clearly a nervous wreck.

As Mal entered the cargo hold and stepped up to the doctor, Zoe immediately halted her stride and waited in the doorway discreetly, her brow furrowed. The captain looked troubled and distracted, she could tell.

"Doc?"

Simon looked over his shoulder. "I don't much feel like talking, _Captain_." There was a flicker of something in his eyes, but his voice was cold.

Zoe let out a breath. Had there been some sort of fight between Mal and the doctor? About River, perhaps? Zoe had always prided herself in knowing the Captain better than anyone, but she didn't have the faintest idea what was going on here. _They'd better get it sorted before the mission, though. Can't have any distractions if we wanna make it out alive._

"Got no need to talk," Mal replied briskly. "Just checkin' that this ain't some kinda suicide mission on your part."

"Why? Because you assume I'm falling apart? I can handle myself fine, Captain. As a matter of fact..." He sucked in a breath, as if he was gathering his strength. "If we do manage to rescue River, the Academy will probably be even more adamant about getting her back. There's no reason to put your crew at risk, any more than we already have. So, assuming we make it out alive, me and River will be getting off on Persephone."

Mal snorted. "With the whole gorram Alliance hot on your tail? An' here I was thinkin' you were lookin' to get yourself killed. Boy was I wrong," he said sarcastically.

"Only one way to find out, I guess," Simon told him as he grabbed one of the guns Mal was holding and cocked it.

"_Hoe tze,_" Zoe swore under her breath. If that boy was planning to get reckless, he was gonna get them all killed. She stepped quickly into the cargo bay, fixing to say something, when Jayne and Kaylee came down from the catwalk.

Kaylee just looked at all of them in turn, chewing on her lip. "You be awful careful, alright?" she said, hugging Simon. "Me and the Shepherd'll be prayin' that you can get River back. With her an' Nara gone, I ain't hardly got anyone to talk to," she said. She forced a small smile, but her eyes looked sad and worried.

Zoe noticed that Mal's eyes were still fixed on the doctor. "Sir," she said in a low voice so no-one would overhear. "Everything in order? 'Cause if there's something on your mind that'll stop you from keeping your mind on the mission, we're gonna get shot," she said matter-of-factly, giving her captain a stern look.

Mal blinked and turned to her. "Nah, we're shiny," he said, his mind clearly back on the matter at hand, Zoe noticed with relief. "Let's do the thing."

------------------------------

"Jensen?" Simon asked carefully, lowering his head so he could peer into the vehicle that was waiting at the end of the landing strip. A cheerful face surrounded by red hair and a bright red shirt grinned back at him

"Simon Tam! Good to see you again!" he said loudly as he swung the door open. "It's been too long."

Simon smiled as he got in the front seat of the car and motioned for the others to get in the back. "It has. I just wish we'd stop meeting under these circumstances," he said wryly.

Jensen nodded and looked over his shoulder. "Everyone strapped in?" he asked, and took off without waiting for an answer. "I tell ya, you guys have some serious cojones, strolling in here to get your baby sister out like it's the regular thing to do."

"Thanks," Zoe said dryly, "but we ain't hardly strolling."

"Don't I know it. You guys'll be lucky to survive. You do seem to have Lady Luck on your side, though. Don't know who your contacts are, but I was practically greeted like royalty when I entered the docks and said I was your cab driver," Jensen rambled as they entered the outskirts of the city. The road stretched out before them, an avenue that led straight along miles and miles of identical houses, all the way to the skyscrapers in the distance.

"Yeah, well, let's hope it stays that way," Mal said darkly from right behind him. Simon felt the hairs on the nape of his neck stand on end. He hated the way his body still responded to Mal, how it wanted to be close to him. He screwed his eyes shut for a moment and told himself to think about the mission.

"Oh _wo bu shin wo dah yan jing_!" Jensen suddenly yelled, making Simon's heart skip a beat.

"What is it?"

Jensen pointed at the transport vehicle that had appeared in the distance, speeding their way. "That's them! Trust me, I know what those vehicles look like!"

"What d'you mean, that's them?" Mal said with a frown. "What're they doin' on this road, 45 minutes ahead o' the schedule we got?"

"I have no rutting clue, they must have changed their route," Jensen said agitatedly. The car was coming their way at breakneck speed.

"Stop the car." The words were out of Simon's mouth before he knew it.

"What?" Jensen squealed. "Simon, we can't hijack an Alliance vehicle in the Londinium suburbs in broad daylight! Look, we can follow them; they might still take the scheduled route. It's a lot calmer there. You do it here, you're signing your death warrant."

"Doc said stop the car," Jayne growled suddenly in a low voice, his face dangerously close to Jensen's. Simon didn't even have time to be confused or grateful, because Jensen immediately slammed down on the brakes.

Even before the vehicle had come to a complete standstill, Jayne had thrown the door open and was out of the car. Simon quickly followed his example and joined him on the side of the road. Behind him, he could hear Mal and Zoe mutter a string of curses as they cocked their guns and joined them.

The transport was now very close, soaring ten inches above the road at breakneck speed. Jayne quickly lifted Vera, aimed at the driver's forehead and fired a single shot without blinking. It didn't even crack the windshield.

"Bullet proof glass," Simon said, trying his best to keep the panic out of his voice. "We've got to aim at the power source."

The four of them raised their guns simultaneously and aimed at the spot right below the Academy logo. Simon swallowed nervously. He steadied his shaking hand, narrowed his eyes and squeezed the trigger.

Four shots rang, there was a soft buzzing sound and the vehicle came to a complete standstill right away. Simon sucked in a breath when the doors flew open and the driver and passenger stepped out. They were immaculately dressed and had a small device in their gloved hands. It almost looked like a wand.

Simon felt his breath hitch and glanced at Jayne, who looked just as skittish as Simon was feeling. He remembered these men, and he had a pretty good feeling what those things did to a man. He quickly cocked his gun, raised it and fired. The bullet hit one of the men in the shoulder, but he hardly seemed to feel it. On the contrary, he smiled eerily and pressed a button on the device.

TBC

------------------------------

_Tianna: God  
__Ta ma de: Fuck  
__Hoe tze: Get out  
__Wo bu shin wo dah yan jing: I don't believe my eyes!_


End file.
